


Confusion

by Serani



Series: Firsts - Changes Prequels in Monoshizukanohi [5]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Anal Sex, Angst, Fingerfucking, Frottage, Hand Jobs, Humor, M/M, Monoshizukanohi, Oral Sex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-01-01
Updated: 2012-07-26
Packaged: 2017-11-10 01:30:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 6
Words: 29,975
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/460725
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Serani/pseuds/Serani
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Part of my "Firsts" series in Monoshizukanohi.  Kenji is home for leave from the military for Christmas before he is shipped out.  He's hiding something, the boys both know it, but what?  And what is it that Izumo's feeling? Will they figure it out?  And what will they do about it?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Please remember that, though Monoshizukanohi is barely mentioned in these stories, it does show up. As such, I want to remind you that Monoshizukanohi belongs to Darkprism and all it entails belong to her with the only exceptions of the Red Dragon Chinese restaurant (and it's owners), Iwakenrou Security and Kenji, which are mine. Crossover of our storylines is purely coincidental, all on me and no reflection whatsoever of any canonization of my stories into her world, unless she says otherwise.
> 
> Also remember that Izumo and Kotetsu belong to Masashi Kishimoto, not me!

“TETSU!” Izumo kicked the front door closed, tearing open the envelope in his hand. “Mail!”

“What?” Kotetsu called as he turned off the sink and dropped the dish sponge.  He turned toward the doorway in time to see Izumo step into the kitchen waving a small envelope.  He snatched up the towel and wiped the suds from his hands.  “What’s that?”

“Letters from Kenji.” He held one out in the vague direction of his friend as he focused on his own letter, reading through the small sheet in his hand.

“They’re awfully thin,” Tetsu commented, tearing his open.  He pulled the single page out and scanned it quickly before reading through it more carefully.

“He’s coming home.  Leave for the holidays before they ship him out. He’s due…” Izumo trailed off and looked over at the calendar on the wall by the phone. “He’s due tomorrow!”

“Yes!” Tetsu grinned over at his friend then turned back to his own letter. “Same basic thing. I don’t know why he sends two,” he said, shaking his head.

Izumo chuckled. “He likes getting two back.  He wants us to pick him up.  I’m glad classes are over for the semester.  We’ll have more time with him.”

“Me, too.  Hmmm.  He doesn’t say what time in my letter.” Kotetsu looked up at Izumo.  “Does he say in yours?”

Izumo shook his head. “He’s not specific here, either.  He says he’ll call, sometime in the afternoon.  We’re supposed to get him at the base.”

“I’m not sure I know where that is.” Kotetsu frowned in thought.

“Um… along the water, not far from the Nara distribution, I think,” Izumo said. “We can look it up. Mom might know, too.”

Tetsu nodded. “Okay.” Then he grinned, “Can’t believe he’s finally coming home. Damn, six months is a long, freaking time.  Feels like it, anyway.”

“I know.  I wonder how long he’ll be home. My letter doesn’t say.”  Izumo’s forehead scrunched up in puzzlement.  “I hope it’s a while.”

“He says here about three weeks,” Tetsu chuckled. “Well, he’s not redundant, is he?”

Izumo laughed. “Oh good! And no. He makes sure we have to read both to get all the information.” He shook his head then frowned. “That’s… odd.”

“What is?” Kotetsu asked, leaning over to glance at Izumo’s letter.

“The way he signed it.”  He tilted the sheet so Tetsu could look.

Kotetsu’s eyebrows went up, then he flipped the paper over he held and they climbed a little higher. “He signed mine the same way.”

“Huh,” Izumo said, staring at the line before Kenji’s name. 

“Yeah, huh,” Kotetsu echoed.  He shook his head and reread the letter.  Nothing else seemed out of the ordinary.  “The rest is pretty normal, if short.”

“Well, it’s probably short just because he’s coming home,” Izumo offered.

“Yeah. But the closing?” Kotetsu asked.

Izumo shrugged. “Maybe just excited to see friends and family?” He suggested.

Kotetsu stared at his friend. “Maybe,” he said, though the tone of voice said he wasn’t buying it.

“Well, I guess we’ll see, huh?” Izumo asked, reading through his letter once more.

“Yeah, guess so.” Tetsu shook his head and went back through his own missive. “Hey, he asks here if he can stay with us for a few days. Apparently his family’s not home yet.”

“They’re not?” Izumo looked up, puzzled.

“That’s what it says,” Kotetsu shrugged.

“Does he say why?”  Izumo asked.

“No. Just says they’re not home. Maybe they’re visiting someone else. His trip home was a bit of a surprise,” Kotetsu said, folding his letter back up.

“That’s true.  Well, don’t think Mom’ll care.” Izumo’s eyes kept drifting back to the closing on his letter.  _Love, Kenji._

“Doubt it. Well, tomorrow afternoon. Better clean out the jeep,” he grumbled.

Izumo laughed. “Yeah. Too many fast food bags in there from school.”

Kotetsu made a face. “Well the food in the dining hall sucks.”

“You don’t have to convince me. Half of those bags are my fault.” Izumo laughed. “Probably should make sure the room is clean, too.”  He sighed and glanced at the clock. “ _Really_ glad the semester’s over. I’ll miss the extra money from not working until January, but I’m happy we have the time off.  I guess we better get started if we don’t want to be scrambling around tomorrow. I still have to do Christmas shopping and if he’s going to be home, I don’t want to spend our time with him doing that.” He grimaced.

“Yeah.  I haven’t shopped for Mom, either. Well, then, let’s go.” Kotetsu grinned. “I hate shopping, but I don’t mind so much this year, with Kenji coming home. Hmm… I wonder what he can take with him…” He mumbled on his way out of the kitchen.

Izumo watched Kotetsu wander down the hallway, muttering to himself and chuckled.  His eyes fell onto the letter again and his mind went back to the goodbye with Kenji before his friend went off for basic training.  That kiss had stunned him completely and six months later, he still hadn’t forgotten it.  He frowned at the letter then shook it off.  He’d know soon enough.

 

The guard at the gate waved them toward a small parking lot a short distance inside the base that was off to one side and by itself. “You can park there and wait.  They’ll be out soon.  Don’t go past the lot without an escort.”

Kotetsu nodded. “Okay, thank you,” he said, pulling through the gate.  The lot was pretty full, most of the other vehicles empty.  Their occupants were standing next to their cars, waiting.  He chose a spot and pulled in, then sat back, glancing over at Izumo.  “Do we wait outside?”  Tetsu asked.

Izumo shrugged. “It’s not like he doesn’t know the jeep. He does. Intimately.” Izumo snorted.

Kotetsu laughed. “Yeah, I remember a few of those times.” 

“The thing is, I don’t know how much we can hug and stuff.  I might be tempted to do more than just pound him on the back a few times,” Izumo said, with a chuckle.

“Yeah, I’m not sure we should greet him like that.” Tetsu smirked.  “Save the tongue for later.”

Izumo rolled his eyes, but the letter from the day before flashed through his mind. Maybe _he_ wasn’t the one to be worried about.  He shook his head and his eyes took in the various buildings near the lot.  All of them were pretty standard box-style, military buildings made of basic red brick and mud-brown paint with low signs identifying them in weird letter and number combinations.  Most of them were pretty far away.  Izumo wondered where Kenji would be coming from.

They sat in silence while they waited, both preoccupied with their own thoughts of the friend they were watching for but they didn’t have to sit too long.  A few minutes later, a long truck flew along the service road through the base and pulled up in front of the lot they were waiting in.  The uniformed driver and passenger jumped out of the cab and jogged around to the back, pulling on the tail gate.  A moment later, several people in uniforms piled out of the back, toting large duffle bags, some also carrying smaller bags with them.

Izumo gave up trying to wait and jumped out of the jeep, too excited.  He watched as several guys and two women jumped down and it took him a second to recognize the next person. He still wasn’t used to seeing short hair on Kenji, though it had grown a little bit since he left for basic.

Kenji looked around, spotted them and jogged over, a huge grin on his face.  He dropped the duffel and lifted Izumo up in a tight hug. “Hey!!”

Izumo was grinning, his arms wrapped tightly around his friend. “Hey yourself. I missed you!” He felt a lingering, if light, peck land on his cheek near his ear and Kenji pulled back.  Izumo glanced over his friend.  “Damn, you look good.  The uniform looks good on you.”

Kenji’s grin spread wider. “Thanks,” he said and turned to Tetsu.  “Still wearing the spikes, huh?”

Kotetsu rolled his eyes. “Of course,” he said, with a sigh, then his own grin took over and Kenji caught him up in a hug, too.  “Let’s get out of here before I’m tempted to kiss you silly,” Tetsu said for their ears.

Kenji laughed and stepped back to grab his bag.  He tossed it in the back of the jeep, but when he started to climb in Izumo beat him to it and took the back seat. “Don’t get used to it, but you can have it this time.”

He let out another laugh as he got into the jeep.  Tetsu pulled out of the spot and made sure to obey every rule as they went through the gates, not wanting to take any chances that they’d be delayed.  As soon as they were out of sight of the base, Izumo leaned forward and planted a kiss on Kenji’s cheek.  “Missed you,” he whispered, surprised a little at himself just how much he had.

Kenji turned in his seat and leaned over, pulling Izumo into a real kiss.  It was full of lips and tongue and emotion that stunned.  When he pulled back, he ran a thumb down over Izumo’s cheek, his eyes full of something Izumo couldn’t quite place. “I missed you, too. So glad to be home, even for a little while.”

“Do I get one of those, too?” Kotetsu asked from the driver’s seat.

Kenji snorted. “When you’re not driving.”

Kotetsu stuck his bottom lip out, but kept his eyes on the road.  “Glad we’re not too far from home, then,” he grumbled, pulling another laugh from their friend.  Kenji leaned over and left a kiss on Kotetsu’s cheek.

“That’ll have to do. You drove.”  He chuckled when the pout deepened.

Tetsu glanced in the rearview at Izumo. “You have to drive next time.”

“Right, so you two can just make out in the back seat while I chauffer you? I think not.” Izumo smirked.

“I didn’t say we’d make out the whole time,” Kotetsu grumbled but went back to driving.  The other two let out snorts.  At the next light, he stole a kiss, getting honked at for his trouble. “Damn, everyone’s in a mood today.”

“It’s the holiday season. They all are,” Kenji said.

“I’m not!” Izumo piped up from the back seat and the other two laughed.

They listened to Kenji talk about his training the rest of the way and pelted him with questions he hadn’t answered in his letters.  Finally, they were pulling up at the house.  Kenji grabbed his duffel and they headed inside. “You can drop your stuff in our room.”

“Okay. I need a shower. I’ve been up since four and part of the day was spent in a transport plane.” He shuddered. “I hate flying in those.”

“You know where everything is,” Izumo said.

“Yeah, but first, you promised,” Kotetsu said and stepped up, dragging Kenji into a kiss.  Kenji wrapped his arms around Kotetsu and pulled his friend in.  One hand tangled in the spikes and Tetsu’s own hands slid down to cup over Kenji’s ass.  Their lips nibbled and nipped, long and slow brushes then they opened to each other, tongues tangling for a much longer taste.  

Kenji pulled back a moment later, both of them more than a little breathless. “Damn, Tetsu…” he cleared his throat, then dropped another kiss on Tetsu’s lips before stepping back. “Really need to go shower.  Before I’m tempted to do more to you two than kiss.”

Kotetsu and Izumo chuckled.  “Wouldn’t want to _make_ you do that,” Zumo said.

Kenji shook his head. “Don’t tempt me.  Let me put it this way, the last time I did something that didn’t involve my hand was our camping trip.”

“Holy shit!” Kotetsu exclaimed, his eyes widening comically.

“Uh, we’re going have to fix that, sooner rather than later,” Izumo said.  He turned, intending to just drop another light kiss on his friend but got pulled in for another long slow one that he couldn’t quite resist.  “Haven’t forgotten how to use those lips,” Izumo muttered, then shook his head and swatted at Kenji’s butt. “But first things first, go get your shower.  You’ll feel better.”  He nudged Kenji toward the hallway and the other man wasted no more time.

“I don’t know what I’d do if I went six months without anything,” Kotetsu said, staring at the doorway Kenji had just gone through.

“Well, I’m sure that, at least part of that time, he was a little preoccupied with, you know, training.  Especially if that ass is anything to go by,” Izumo said, his own eyes locked on the spot Kenji had been.

Kotetsu snorted.  “Yeah, true. But even so.” He shook his head.  “Well, we’re just going to have to make sure he gets plenty before he goes back.” Kotetsu grinned, sending a look at Izumo. “Wouldn’t want to send him back frustrated or anything.”

“No, wouldn’t want that.  Gee, this could be such a horrible thing, having lots of sex with Kenji,” Izumo snickered.

“You act like you never get any.” Kotetsu rolled his eyes and shook his head.  “Just… go make sure he’s got everything he needs, I’ll see if I can figure out dinner.  Mom’s not due home until late tonight.”

“Oh, now that _is_ a crime. The house to ourselves?  With Kenji?” Izumo chuckled, turning down the hallway.

“You are a perv,” Kotetsu called and Izumo just waved a hand over his shoulder in answer.

Izumo headed down the hall and started to knock on the bathroom door, but grinned wickedly and opened it silently instead.  He leaned in to see the shadow of Kenji behind the shower curtain, currently working on washing his hair.  He turned around to rinse, Izumo got a glimpse of Kenji’s very hard cock and he just couldn’t resist. 

He closed the door as quietly as he’d opened it and stripped quickly.  When Kenji turned back, he slipped in behind and reached around, wrapping a hand around the hard length and giving one long slow stroke from base to tip.  “Fuck, Zumo,” Kenji moaned, his arms coming back, hands reaching for something on Izumo to touch.

“How’d you know it was me?” Izumo whispered against his back, dropping a trail of kisses over the muscles.

“Mm. I remember your touch,” he answered in an equally quiet voice, then turned back around, pulling Izumo into his arms and pinning the other man against the wall.  Lips met, tongues tangled and things heated quickly.  “God… missed you…” he whispered, nipping at Izumo’s lips and sucking one in to bite down gently.

Izumo groaned loudly, his fingers tangling in the soft brown hair.  “I’m glad it’s grown out a little,” he said, when they broke apart.

“Now that I’m out of basic, it just has to stay off my collar.” Kenji rocked into Izumo, their arousals rubbing and Izumo let another moan loose.  “Tetsu know you’re in here?”  Kenji asked, but didn’t wait for an answer, diving in for another of those long thorough kisses.

“He sent me to make sure you didn’t need anything,” Izumo managed during a break when air demanded attention.

Kenji grinned. “I need _you_ ,” he said, nipping again at Izumo’s lips then moving down over chin and neck, leaving a trail of light bites.

“Oh fuck, Kenji, you’re too good at that.”  Izumo ground into him, hands tightening in his hair, tugging gently and dragging a moan from the other man. “More… fuck, more.”

“Mmm. I can do that,” Kenji whispered, pulling back and reaching for the conditioner on the shelf.  He poured a little into his hands and coated his fingers with it, lifting one of Izumo’s legs and pushing two of those fingers into his friend. “God _damn_ , you’re tight. I thought you and Tetsu were still fucking each other.”

“Been a little while. Had finals,” Izumo forced out around his moans and loosing a loud one when Kenji hit his prostate. “Usually…” he paused again, nearly losing his train of thought, “Usually not b-b… fuck…” he gave up trying to speak and let the grunts and moans take over instead.

Kenji worked his fingers around, sliding them very slowly in and just as slowly back out, teasing Izumo again.  He earned himself more of those beautiful sounds and he continued simply tormenting the other man for a moment, stretching Zumo slowly.  He added his other hand to the mix then stroking as well.  “God, don’t… oh fuck, don’t play…” Izumo groaned, dragging Kenji in for another tangle of lips and tongues.  Kenji ignored the pleading, enjoying the reactions too much to speed it up. 

“You just feel too damn good, Zumo,” Kenji muttered before diving in for more of that incredible taste.  They got lost then in relearning each other, memorizing again the feel of the other person.  Fingertips traced dips, lines, and lengths, lips dragged and tongues remembered the flavor of salty skin.  “Missed… you… so… much…” Kenji managed between kisses.

Izumo pulled back.  “God, missed you too, Kenji.”  He bent and nibbled on his friend’s neck, sucking a bit of the skin in to leave a mark and getting a very loud moan for his efforts. 

Kenji finally hit his limit on patience and pulled back, covering his cock with the conditioner.  “Turn around, babe,” Kenji whispered then didn’t let him move right away, instead pausing to capture Izumo’s lips once more in another thorough kiss. When they broke apart again, Izumo didn’t hesitate and turned, bracing himself against the wall of the shower.

A moment later, Kenji was pushing into his friend and they both groaned at the feel. “Oh fuck, you feel good. Way too fucking long,” Kenji muttered when he paused just half way in, trying to slow down and simply enjoy it.  Izumo shifted, more impatient than Kenji in that moment, pushing back and then he was buried completely. “Oh… ngh… oh… yes…” Kenji moaned, his control breaking and he started moving, pumping into the other man, thrusting hard, lost to the tight heat that surrounded him. “Oh God, Zumo… oh _fuck_ …”

It wouldn’t last long. Izumo knew that and he fisted his cock, his hand moving in fast strokes timed to the dick thrusting hard into him.  “Kenji… nngh, God, you feel… unf… good…” He moved his hips, Kenji’s hands tightening on them almost enough to bruise.

“Fuck, Zumo, oh fuck…” His thrusts sped up, became erratic and he nearly pounded into the other man. “Oh God, going… to come soon.”  He bent forward, sucking a bit of skin on Izumo’s back into his mouth and forcing himself to slow.  He dragged his lips along Zumo’s shoulder and neck, giving himself something else to focus on.

  1. Come for me.”



Kenji started moving faster again, letting himself go.  His eyes slid closed, and he felt the pleasure building quickly.  He wanted to wait, tried to hold on.

But it was just too much, had been too long.  Kenji stood up again and his hips moved faster, pumped harder and he lost it.  “Oh fuck, oh fuck… now… ZUMO!” He shouted the last as his climax slammed into him.  His vision went white and the orgasm ripped through him, stealing breath, rendering him deaf and speechless.  He continued to pump hard, unable to stop or slow, as the nerves ignited and he filled Izumo with his cum.

Izumo rode it out, his own climax hitting right as his friend’s did.  He managed a grunted, “KENJI” before he shuddered hard, the pleasure screaming through him.  His balls tightened, the sensations flooded him and he emptied himself all over the wall in front of him with a wordless shout.

Izumo’s head dropped and he panted, desperately trying to find the oxygen his lungs were demanding.  Kenji curled over him, arms coming around him and holding him tight.  One of Izumo’s arms went around the two holding him and he laid his head back against Kenji’s shoulder.  He turned his head, dropping light kisses on the cheek next to his. 

They stayed like that a moment, leaving those light kisses where they could reach, arms wrapped as much as possible, but eventually they had to move when the water started to cool.  “Mmm. Need to finish cleaning you up.”

“Mmhhmm…” Kenji managed, giving a short nod, but he didn’t actually do anything.  “Don’t wanna move,” he said instead, nuzzling into Izumo’s cheek.

Izumo chuckled, his eyes closing, savoring the feel of Kenji wrapped around and still buried inside him. He sighed, then.  “You will when the water turns icy.” He dropped another kiss on Kenji’s cheek.

Kenji sighed. “I guess,” he muttered, but still didn’t move.

A moment later, there was a pounding on the door. “If you two are finished fucking, pizza’s going to be here soon.” Kotetsu called through the door.

They both laughed. “Okay!” Izumo called and he smacked at Kenji’s hip. Kenji paused to nip at Izumo’s neck again before finally standing up and easing out of his friend.  Izumo turned around and busied himself with the washcloth and soap.  He cleaned Kenji in silence, his friend watching his movements, Kenji’s hands brushing at his hair, running down his face or simply touching wherever possible.

Just as he finished up and Kenji rinsed, they leaned in for one more of the soft, slow kisses that Kenji was so good at.  Izumo moaned into it, fingers threading into the hair again.  They broke apart and Kenji rested his forehead on Izumo’s.  “So glad to be home,” he whispered.

Izumo considered trying to make light of it, but he didn’t think Kenji would have wanted that right then. “I’m glad that you are, too,” he said, instead, tilting his head for one more taste.  He considered his friend, though, as the water was shut off and they dried each other.  There was something else here and Izumo was a little afraid he knew what it was. 

He was afraid because he didn’t know how he felt about it.

He glanced up and the hazel eyes were focused on him.  “Something wrong?” Kenji asked.

Izumo shook his head. “No.  Had the thought that I’m not looking forward to when you go back,” he said, hoping that Kenji didn’t see through it. It wasn’t really a lie, anyway.

He knew why he was afraid of the things he thought he felt coming from Kenji.  If he returned the feelings – admitted that he felt that way – he’d have to deal with those fears.  Half of it was that he wasn’t sure how he’d handle it when Kenji was sent back out.  And the other half was because he didn’t know if he could deal with it at all if something were to happen to the other man and Kenji didn’t come home again, ever. He’d been through that already once, and it was still just a little too recent.  Not that he _ever_ wanted to go through it again.  He mentally shook it away.

“How are you with that?” Kenji asked, unerringly hitting the heart of things.  He brushed a bit of Izumo’s hair back and wrapped his arms around the other man again. 

  1. Hayate’s picture was still up there. “I still think about him, but most of the time, it’s not nearly as bad as it was before you left.”



Kenji dropped his uniform on top of his duffle and tugged on Izumo, wrapping his arms around the other man once again.  “I’ll be leaving in three weeks, not before.  If you want – and you’re Mom’s okay with it, I can stay here most of that time.”

“You’d do that?” Izumo asked, glancing up.

Kenji nodded. “If that’s what you want, I’ll be happy to.  Can’t think of a better place to spend leave than with you and Tetsu.”

Izumo grinned. “Then yes, I do. I know Tetsu would want it, too.”

Kenji’s smile matched Izumo.  “Good.  And remember, my job doesn’t involve being one of the first to go to the front even _if_ something were to come up.  I’m a geek; I work with the equipment and machines.”

“I know,” Izumo said, staring at the toned chest under his hands.  He traced the muscles with his fingertips, pausing to brush his lips across them, buying himself a moment.  He swallowed and looked up into his friend’s face. “I couldn’t take losing you, too.”

Kenji sighed and dropped a kiss on Izumo’s forehead.  “I wish I hadn’t had to go,” Kenji said into Izumo’s hair, his arms tightening.  “I miss you two so much, but I didn’t have many options.”

Izumo nodded. “I know.” He looked up at his friend. “Just… God, don’t be a hero, okay?”

Kenji smiled. “There are very few heroic computer people.”

Izumo laughed. “Right.” He shook his head then dropped another kiss on the other’s lips, which Kenji took advantage of and deepened.  When they finally pulled back a long time later, Izumo said, “Come on, Tetsu’s going to get pissed if I hog your time.”

Kenji laughed. “Don’t want that.”

They dressed quickly and headed out to the living room.  The pizza boxes were piled on the coffee table with paper plates and paper towels.  Tetsu had the TV on and Izumo recognized the Borg running around on the _Enterprise_.  “About time you two came out. You leave anything for me?” Tetsu asked Izumo and Kenji laughed.

“Geez, you two.” He shook his head and sat next to Tetsu on the couch, leaning in and giving his friend a long slow kiss. “That better?” He asked and Tetsu grinned.  Izumo took the spot on the other side of Kenji and laughed.

“For now,” he said with a chuckle and the three of them dove into the pizza boxes. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Borg and the Enterprise are property of Gene Roddenberry's estate and Paramount.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please remember that, though Monoshizukanohi is barely mentioned in these stories, it does show up. As such, I want to remind you that Monoshizukanohi belongs to Darkprism and all it entails belong to her with the only exceptions of the Red Dragon Chinese restaurant (and it's owners), Iwakenrou Security and Kenji, which are mine. Crossover of our storylines is purely coincidental, all on me and no reflection whatsoever of any canonization of my stories into her world, unless she says otherwise.
> 
> Also remember that Izumo and Kotetsu belong to Masashi Kishimoto, not me!

The pizza was decimated, there was a mess of boxes and plates all over the coffee table, Izumo was sprawled across the couch, head in Kenji’s lap and the Borg had taken over the Enterprise D.

“Now, see, I can’t imagine Data would much care if he has sex with a guy or a girl,” Kotetsu said, a thoughtful expression on his face.  “Seems to me that as an android – even with feelings now, he wouldn’t have any preconceived notions about gender.”

“Well, he’s had sex once, remember, and that was with a woman,” Izumo pointed out.

“Yeah, but that was only because she propositioned him,” Kenji reminded them. “Either way, Data’s hot. I wonder how he is in bed.”

Kotetsu snorted. “He’s… how did it go? ‘Programmed in multiple techniques.’”

All three of them laughed. “Which begs the question of how his creator was in bed…” Izumo mused then chuckled when the other two did. “Honestly, the only one out of the command crew I _wouldn’t_ be interested in is Worf.” Izumo shuddered.  “Well, and Troi and the doctor, but…”

Kenji raised an eyebrow. “I didn’t take you for a racist.”

Izumo quickly shook his head. “No, no. It has nothing to do with color. Jordi’s hot, too, in my opinion. No, it’s all that violence and pain.” He shuddered again.  “Not my thing at all. At least, to be on the receiving end.”

“Ah, that makes sense,” Kenji said, nodding.

“That probably wouldn’t bother me,” Tetsu said, thoughtfully.

Izumo snorted. “Of course not.  You practically get off just from having your hair pulled.”

Kotetsu scowled down at him but Kenji chuckled. Tetsu turned to his friend. “What?”

“Well, you do.” To demonstrate, Kenji reached up, grabbed a fistful of spikes and tugged.

Kotetsu moaned, then blushed at the looks from the other two.  “What? You like your hair pulled, too.” Tetsu returned the favor, dragging a quiet groan from Kenji in response.

“You’re both nuts.  Rough is one thing, pain is another.” Izumo shook his head again.

“Yeah, but you don’t mind dishing it out to us, do you?” Kenji asked, playing with Izumo’s hair.

“Um…” Izumo blushed, leaving the question unanswered.  There were corresponding snorts from the other two. He turned his attention back to the TV, trying to focus on the Borg and push the questions away.

Kenji watched Izumo turn to the screen and worked to keep his disappointment at bay.  He knew better.  Hayate hadn’t even been gone a year yet.  He knew he needed to give Izumo room, time to get over it.  He shifted his attention to Kotetsu and watched as his friend grinned at something on the screen.  He reached out and took Kotetsu’s free hand and held it, Kotetsu squeezing as he did so.

Kotetsu looked over at him and leaned in to kiss him.  Kenji’s eyes slid closed and he savored the feel of the lips against him.  He let go of Kotetsu’s hand and threaded his own through the spiky hair and Kotetsu moaned softly into the kiss.  Kenji deepened it, his tongue tracing Kotetsu’s lips and his friend opened to him, tongues sliding, both getting lost in the taste. 

Kenji did his best to keep emotion out of the equation, but he doubted he succeeded.  He knew that Kotetsu didn’t feel for him the way he felt for Kotetsu, but he couldn’t help it.  He’d figured out a while back that they didn’t feel the same.  Kotetsu was still trying to decide if he _could_ love and Kenji hadn’t wanted to push because he didn’t want to lose out on what he could get. 

They’d agreed that they weren’t ‘boyfriends’, but that had been one of the hardest things he’d ever done.  He wanted Kotetsu and, since then, he realized that he was just as messed up over Izumo, though he didn’t understand it.  He knew that you couldn’t love two people the same, or that’s what he thought, but if he’d been put on the spot about it, he wouldn’t have been able to say who he felt more for.

He just knew he did - for both of them.  And as the kiss heated with Kotetsu, even with Izumo in his lap, he wanted -- wanted Kotetsu, wanted to -- and _did_ , love this man.  Kotetsu pulled back and Kenji met the dark, slanted eyes, taking in the stunned expression.  “Kenji?” Tetsu asked and Kenji just closed the distance and kissed Kotetsu again, knowing from experience that if he kept it physical, Kotetsu would let it go.

So he kissed more, lost himself in Kotetsu’s taste for a long moment, and when they broke apart, he forced himself to turn back to the movie and just take Kotetsu’s hand.  He ignored the confused look sent his way and a minute later, Kotetsu turned back to the TV, as well.

He managed to get back into the movie and put his annoying emotions away.  All three of them enjoyed the movie and when the credits rolled, Izumo sat up and stretched.  “Well, Tetsu, why don’t you help Kenji unpack? I cleared the two bottom drawers for him and there’s space in the closet. I’ll clean up here, take care of the laundry and stuff?”

Kotetsu grinned. “Okay.  Come on, Kenji, let’s get you settled.”

Kenji raised an eyebrow and looked from Izumo to Kotetsu, but when nothing more was said, he followed his friend into the bedroom. “What was that all about?” Kenji asked, knowing full well that he didn’t need help to unpack his little bit of stuff.

“He’s giving us a chance to be alone,” Kotetsu replied and, as soon as the door was closed, pulled Kenji against him. 

“Ohhh,” Kenji breathed before catching Kotetsu’s lips in a kiss.  He pinned Kotetsu against the door and lost himself in the feel of their bodies against each other, the kiss deepening. 

“Fuck, missed you,” Kotetsu whispered when they broke apart.  He slid his hands down Kenji’s back to cup the tight ass cheeks and pull Kenji a little closer.

“Mmm. Missed you, Tetsu, so much,” he whispered before diving in for more of that incredible taste.  One hand went into the spikes, the other slid under Kotetsu’s ass, squeezing.  “Fuck, you feel good,” he murmured then pulled back. 

Kotetsu pushed off of the door and pulled Kenji toward the bed.  Kenji had been too preoccupied with Izumo earlier to pay much attention, but the bunk beds were gone and in their place was a double or queen, he couldn’t quite tell. It looked a little big to be a double, but he’d spent so much time on bunks the last six months, that he wasn’t sure.  He blinked at it a moment, shaking his head again at the fact that their mom didn’t seem to care if they shared a bed. 

He tried not to let the thought bother him - of what the two of them did together when he wasn’t there, but it still did. He wanted to be with them, not God-knows where, in a camouflage uniform, supporting computers.  He pushed the thoughts off and turned his attention to the one with him now. 

Kotetsu kicked off his shoes and pulled his shirt over his head, not bothering with the pretense of unpacking.  Kenji followed suit, tossing his sweats off to the side to join Kotetsu’s jeans and boxers, then pushing his friend back onto the bed.  “Still taking lessons at the dojo, huh?” He asked, admiring the way Kotetsu had filled in a little over the six months he’d been gone.

“Yeah and your training didn’t hurt you any,” Kotetsu said with a grin, hand running over Kenji’s chest and stomach.  “Let me taste it,” he whispered pushing Kenji back and catching Kenji’s lips in another sanity-stealing kiss. 

Kenji moaned into it, his hands once more going to the spikes to play and pull.  He loved listening to Kotetsu respond, so he did everything he could to draw those sounds out, tugging at the black hair, bucking up to rub his cock against Kotetsu’s and running his tongue along his lover’s.  Kotetsu responded beautifully, groans and grunts falling from those talented lips as he pulled back and started to work his way down Kenji’s body.

Kenji hissed out a breath when Kotetsu played with a nipple, sucking on it until it hardened.  With a devious grin, he gave to the other the same attention then continued down over Kenji’s tight stomach, pausing to run his tongue around the navel then further, until he’d made it to his goal.  Kenji’s cock jumped and a long, low groan erupted when his cock was swallowed in one move.

“Fuck, Tetsu,” he grunted when Kotetsu sucked once before pulling off to give attention to Kenji’s balls.  His eyes slammed shut when one was pulled into Kotetsu’s mouth and tongued and he grabbed a fistful of comforter to try to keep himself grounded.  Kotetsu worked him over, driving him damned near insane, teasing every bit of skin on his cock and sac.  “Tetsu, fuck, please,” he nearly begged, tugging at the spiky hair.

Kotetsu moaned at the slight pain, but gave in and sat up.  Kenji watched his friend’s cock jump in need and he sat up, too, catching Tetsu’s lips in a thorough kiss and guiding Kotetsu back onto the spot Kenji had just occupied. “My turn, babe,” Kenji murmured, pinning Kotetsu’s hands down and giving another of those insane kisses.  Kotetsu moaned into it and rocked his hips, bucking into Kenji, but Kenji pulled back, determined to keep from going as fast as he had earlier with Izumo.

When he released Kotetsu’s hands, they went straight into his hair.  “Damn, miss the long hair,” Kotetsu grumbled.

“Me, too. I’ll grow it back as soon as I can, I promise,” he said, glancing up and Kotetsu grinned.

“Damn well better,” he said, and Kenji grinned back then turned his attention back to his friend’s body.  He kissed every spot he could find, relearning all the things that made Kotetsu gasp and move. He worked them mercilessly, pushing Kotetsu as far as he could, doing everything he could think of to give this man pleasure. 

He avoided Kotetsu’s dick for as long as he could, teasing everything else, but when Kotetsu bucked again and nearly begged him to, “... suck me already, _please_.” He couldn’t resist the need in that sexy voice and swallowed it, pulling a near-shout of his name from Kotetsu’s throat.  He paused briefly, his eyes closing to savor the sound then turned his attention to pleasuring Kotetsu, working the cock over, licking, sucking, tracing veins and playing with the slit.  He thrilled in the sounds coming from Kotetsu, the way the body under him writhed in need and before long, his need to be inside his lover got to be too much.

He pulled back and managed to gather his wits just a little bit.  His cock was so hard, leaking pre-cum and it jumped at the vision in front of him of Kotetsu laid open before him, eyes locked to him, full of need and want for _him_.  He moved up and caught Kotetsu’s lips in another long kiss, letting some of his need for this man out.  Kotetsu’s hands slid down Kenji’s back and pulled until Kenji was laying on him, their cocks sliding along each other, bodies rocking. “Want you so much, Tetsu,” Kenji managed between kisses and Kotetsu moaned in response, hands tightening on Kenji’s ass. 

“Not as much as I want you, inside me, Kenji...” Kotetsu murmured then nipped at Kenji’s lips again.  “Lube in the drawer.” 

Kenji dropped another kiss on Kotetsu’s lips before diving for the bedside table. He pulled on the knob a little too hard, snatching the bottle out and catching the drawer just before it fell out completely.  Then he was back, more kisses, more touches before he sat up and opened the bottle. Kotetsu sat up and started to turn over, but Kenji shook his head. “Wanna see you,” he whispered instead and Kotetsu raised his eyebrows, but laid back and watched as Kenji coated his fingers then set the bottle aside.  “Zumo said it’s been a while,” he whispered, leaning down to take another taste of Kotetsu’s lips. 

Kotetsu reached up to cup Kenji’s face and return the kiss, moaning softly when the fingers teased his entrance.  “Yeah, it has,” Kotetsu confirmed and sucked in a breath when Kenji’s fingers found his prostate. “Fuck... good as ever with those fingers,” Kotetsu murmured and Kenji smiled.

Kenji wanted to take his time, tease Kotetsu more, but they were both going just a little too crazy for it.  So, with gentle prodding and a slick cock, Kenji settled into place.  It took all his control not to thrust home in one move as he started to push through the ring of muscle.  He wanted to, Tetsu felt so good, looked so good, with those dark slanted eyes fixed on him, heat filling them and sounds of raw need, spurring him on.  He bit his lip, focusing on the slight pain in the hopes that it would keep him grounded enough.

It did, was _just_ enough and he was able to take his time until finally he was buried completely.  Kotestu’s hands came up to grip his shoulders and he paused a moment to memorize the feel, this instance with Kotetsu.  He fought it, fought the need to say what was on the tip of his tongue and instead leaned down and caught Kotetsu’s lips in a long kiss to hold the words back.  _I love you_.

Kotetsu’s hands slid down his back and he took the hint and started moving, slowly at first, trying to stretch it out.  When they broke apart, he leaned up and moaned as Tetsu shifted, legs tightening just a bit. “Fuck, you feel good,” he murmured, giving in to his body’s need and pulling back to thrust hard.

“So... oh _fuck_... do... you, Kenji,” Kotetsu managed between grunts. His hands tightened on Kenji’s arms, nails biting into the skin and he moaned louder when Kenji hit his prostate again. “Fuck, there, harder, oh God, Kenji... so fucking good.”  He let go of one shoulder and his hand dove for his cock to stroke and Kenji, unable to resist the needy pleas, gave in and started moving faster, thrusting harder.

And the pleasure sharpened, shifting it to raw need and he pushed his jumbled thoughts back to focus on the physical, the feel of this incredible body.  He sat up a little, lifting Kotetsu’s legs and bracing them on his shoulders, going deeper.  Kotetsu’s moans turned to near shouts and his hand started moving faster. “Oh God, getting... fuck... getting close...”

“Me, too,” Kenji managed, his eyes sliding closed as the edge flew nearer.  “Gonna fill you with my cum, babe.”

Kotetsu groaned and lifted his hand to brace himself against the headboard.  “Fuck yeah, _Kenji_...” His hand moved faster, his hips tilted and a moment later, the groan turned to a shout.  Kenji’s eyes flew open in time to see Kotetsu’s face twist and hand speed up a little more. “Coming, oh God, Kenji, _coming!”_ He shouted then the thick white cum shot out, covering his chest.

The visual was all he needed.  Kenji surged hard into Kotetsu’s tight body and lost it, his orgasm strong, the pleasure flying through him, pulling the shout of Kotetsu’s name from him as he filled his friend.  He thrust a few more times, riding out the orgasm before he went limp and collapsed onto Kotetsu.  He lay there for a long moment, trying to find his sanity, his face buried in Kotetsu’s neck, inhaling the scent of his friend.

The words wanted desperately to come out again, but he clamped down hard on it and dropped a kiss on Kotetsu’s neck before leaning up.  Kotetsu grinned at him and he matched it as he eased out and flopped over onto the bed. “Six months? You certainly didn’t forget anything in that time,” Kotetsu said with a chuckle and rolled to face him.

Kenji laughed. “I guess it’s like riding a bicycle or something,” he said and pushed back a few damp strands of black hair.

“Guess so,” Kotetsu said, shaking his head.  He leaned in and their lips met in a soft, slow kiss and Kenji’s eyes closed.  He knew Kotetsu didn’t love him, but damn that kiss sure felt like it.  The kiss broke, their eyes met and for a long moment, neither spoke, slanted eyes locked to hazel.  There was something there, they could see more than Kenji would have liked and he dropped his gaze, leaning in to kiss Kotetsu again, but this time, Tetsu pulled back. “Kenji?”

Kenji forced a smile. “Yeah?” He asked, hoping to dodge the question.

“What’s up?” Kotetsu asked, and Kenji should have known Tetsu wouldn’t let it go.

“Nothing, probably just tired. Been a long day,” he muttered, but the snort Kotetsu gave told him that his friend knew it for the lie it was.  He met the slanted eyes again and shook his head. “Really, it’s nothing, okay?”

Kotetsu considered him for a long moment. “Do you ever regret saying we weren’t boyfriend’s anymore?”

Kenji blinked at Kotetsu, momentarily stunned at the way he’d zeroed in on it, then sighed. “Yeah, sometimes.” He wasn’t going to lie, though he wasn’t about to tell the whole truth, either.

“Does it bother you that we aren’t?” He asked and Kenji swallowed.

 _Hell yeah, it does_.  “I dunno, sometimes,” he said and shrugged, trying to play it off. “Be kinda nice to know I’ve got someone at home that’s mine.”  He refused to look at Kotetsu when he said it, since it was only a partial truth and the smallest part, at that. __

Kotetsu didn’t speak for a long time and finally Kenji looked up at him. “I... I’m not sure I could turn Zumo down if he wanted... stuff,” Kotetsu said, roughly.

Kenji blinked at him.  What was he saying...?  “I wouldn’t expect you to, but... Tetsu, I know you don’t feel for me. There’s no need to say something like that if you don’t want it - just to make me feel good.”

Kotetsu raised an eyebrow. “I wouldn’t. What I feel or don’t isn’t the issue here.  I told you before I don’t know if I can _love_ , but I care about you, so does Zumo.” He chuckled. “Maybe he’s the one you ought to call ‘boyfriend’ - he’s more boyfriend material than I am, anyway.”

Kenji shook his head. “I care about him, too, but first off... you were my boyfriend first,” he started, but Kotetsu snorted.

“Please, this isn’t some sort of ‘I saw him first!’ contest,” he said, rolling his eyes. 

“But,” Kenji interrupted.  “I don’t think he’s ready, anyway.  And me? Tetsu... I know I’m a computer geek, I know I’m just an equipment guy, but I _am_ in the military.  You know as well as I do that if some nut decides to bomb the post or base I’m on...” He trailed off, but Kotetsu got it.

“Yeah. That’d pretty much kill him,” he finished for Kenji then sighed.  “I still think you should say something to him first. You might be surprised what he’d say.”

Kenji chewed on his lip and let his eyes drop back to Kotetsu’s chest.  His fingers ghosted over Kotetsu’s shoulder then slid down the arm until he could grasp a hand.  “I’ll talk to him,” he finally agreed.

“Good.  In fact,” he said, yawning. “We should probably go tell him its safe to come in.”  He flopped onto his back and stretched, yawning again.

“I’ll get him,” Kenji volunteered, dropping another kiss on Kotetsu’s lips that was returned then rolling out of bed.  He snatched up his sweats and pulled them on then started for the door.  When Kenji glanced back, Kotetsu’s eyes were closed, one arm was thrown over his head and he was already starting to breathe slowly.  Kenji grinned and shook his head, then slipped out.

 

He found Izumo in the basement, folding clothes.  He slipped up behind his friend and wrapped his arms around Izumo’s waist. “Hey babe,” he whispered.

Izumo grinned. “Hello, yourself. Did you enjoy your time with Kotetsu?” He asked, turning around in Kenji’s arms.

Kenji grinned. “Does anyone _not_ enjoy their time with him?”

Izumo laughed. “There are times...” he said and Kenji laughed with him, nodding.

“Point. Well, I was sent to tell you it’s ‘safe’,” he said, rolling his eyes.

Izumo chuckled. “Thanks.  I think I want a shower, though, before bed. I didn’t exactly get clean in the one I took with you earlier.”

Kenji grinned. “No, we were a little preoccupied. Would you like company? Maybe some help getting clean?”

Izumo raised an eyebrow. “Would I actually get clean?”

“Well,” Kenji said, slowly, “I’m not sure I’m quite up for that so soon, so... probably.”

Izumo laughed. “Probably,” he said, nodding. “Okay, let’s go.”  He put a hand on Kenji’s cheek. “Are you okay?” He asked, eyes sharpening.

Kenji forced himself to keep the smile on his face. “I’m fine. You and Tetsu, I swear, looking for something to be wrong,” he shook his head and stepped back, taking Izumo’s hand. 

Izumo considered him for a long moment before he spoke. “Grab that basket for me,” he said, letting it drop and squeezed Kenji’s hand before grabbing the one next to him.

Kenji couldn’t hide the grateful look completely as he picked up the basket and followed Izumo out of the basement.

 

They were, mostly, good in the shower.  Kenji managed to keep it to cleaning until he got to Izumo’s cock and couldn’t resist touching a bit too much.  He found himself responding to the feel of Izumo’s length filling and hardening and he decided not to fight it.  He dropped to his knees and took the cock into his mouth, thrilling in the feel of giving pleasure. 

He soaked up the moans, the feel of Izumo’s hands in his hair, the sound of his name once more falling from those lips.  And when he brought Izumo to orgasm, the hands pulling on his brown locks, the shout loud over the pounding of the water, he filed them away to bring out later when he was alone[1] .

Izumo protested that he should help Kenji’s own arousal, but Kenji firmly refused, reminding him that there would be plenty of opportunity for more and that it was getting late.  He finished cleaning Izumo up, scrubbed himself off quickly and climbed out.  He did take the time to dry Izumo off himself, then a few minutes later, they climbed onto the bed.

Izumo insisted he sleep in the middle and Kenji wasn’t able to bring himself to protest too much.  When they settled in, Izumo curled up with his back against Kenji’s front and Kenji wrapped around Izumo, arms holding him tightly.  “Night, Zumo,” he whispered, dropping a kiss on Izumo’s shoulder.

“Night, Kenji. I’m glad you’re here,” Izumo replied.

“I’m glad to be here. So happy to be with you.”  Another kiss and he closed his eyes.

“I’m happy you’re with us,” Izumo whispered back, lifting one of Kenji’s hands and dropping a kiss on it.  He hesitated and Kenji thought that Izumo was going to say something else, but then he seemed to settle in a little further and nothing else came out.

Kenji tightened his arms, closed his eyes and reminded himself that he still had a lot, even if it wasn’t want he really wanted.  They were alive, he was alive and he worked to remember that it was more than Hayate had.  With those thoughts floating through his mind, he fell asleep.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Borg and the Enterprise are property of Gene Roddenberry's estate and Paramount.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please remember that, though Monoshizukanohi is barely mentioned in these stories, it does show up. As such, I want to remind you that Monoshizukanohi belongs to Darkprism and all it entails belong to her with the only exceptions of the Red Dragon Chinese restaurant (and it's owners), Iwakenrou Security and Kenji, which are mine. Crossover of our storylines is purely coincidental, all on me and no reflection whatsoever of any canonization of my stories into her world, unless she says otherwise. 
> 
> Izumo and Kotetsu belong to Masashi Kishimoto.

When Kenji woke the next morning, he was in heaven.  Kotetsu was curled up against his back spoon-style, with one arm wrapped around his waist.  Izumo was facing him, their legs were tangled and an arm was around him, right along Kotetsu’s.  Kenji laid there for a long moment with his eyes still closed, savoring the feel of them against him. 

When he finally looked down, it was to see Izumo’s face, eyes closed in sleep, hair mussy.  He reached up and brushed some back then let his fingers ghost softly over one cheek.  He’d have given anything in that moment to be able to do that every morning.  His heart thudded at the thought and he swallowed around the lump that formed. 

Izumo had been through so much over Hayate.  Kenji thought back to the disastrous mistake he and Hayate had made early in their relationship with Izumo and Kotetsu.  At times, he still kicked himself for that when the memory surfaced.  He was extremely lucky that they were so forgiving. And not just for the chance to love them, but for the incredible friendship he had with them, too.  He sent up a short prayer that he’d never screw up so badly again.

 _I wish you could be mine._   The thought forced its way to the forefront of Kenji’s mind as he took in the dark lashes against pale skin.  He sighed quietly at himself. If he didn’t get a better handle on his emotions, he was going to ruin his leave.  Back before he left for basic, he’d learned to take what he could get, be friends, even fuck buddies, with them and be happy with it.  He wanted to take pleasant memories of his trip home back with him and he forced himself to swallow the emotion, at least for now. __

He leaned forward and brushed his lips across Izumo’s forehead.  Big brown eyes opened and met his and Izumo’s lips spread into a beautiful smile. “Good morning, gorgeous,” Izumo whispered and despite the promise Kenji had just made himself, his heart did a slow roll.

He forced his smile to match Izumo’s. “Good morning, yourself, handsome.”  Izumo’s grin widened and he leaned up, lips meeting Kenji’s.  The kiss was surprisingly long and thorough and Kenji could have sworn there was more than friendship behind it.  But a moment later, Izumo pulled back.

“Mom’s going to be so happy to see you.  She’s missed you.  She actually _cheered_ when we told her you were coming home to visit,” Izumo said.

Kenji’s eyebrows went up. “I didn’t know your mom liked me that much.”

“She loves you,” Kotetsu’s deep voice said behind Kenji. Kenji shifted and tried to look over his shoulder, but Kotetsu’s arm just tightened. “Don’t move yet. Too comfy here,” he murmured and Kenji laughed.

“Sloth,” he teased and Kotetsu snorted.

“Yeah, and?” Kotetsu muttered, settling a little further against Kenji’s back.

Kenji just laughed and shook his head, turning back to Izumo, who nodded. “She does.  Kept asking when you’d be coming home, so when we said you’d be here over the holidays, she was really happy.”

“Well.  Sure makes me happy to hear,” Kenji said, grinning.  Then he sighed.  “I think this is the latest I’ve slept in six months.”

“Yeah, don’t you usually get up at dawn or something?” Izumo asked.

Kenji chuckled. “Close.  Though not as much since I’m out of basic.  AIT wasn’t quite as early, but still earlier than you guys are used to, I’m sure.  I’m going to turn _so_ lazy over leave, I’m sure of it.”

“Uh uh, we’ll drag you to the dojo with us and make you spar, too,” Kotetsu murmured. “I’m just not getting out of bed at dawn. You can do that yourself.”

Izumo rolled his eyes. “He can sleep in. I’ll get up with you,” Izumo offered. “You still drink coffee?”

Kenji nodded. “Yeah, I got away from it in basic - didn’t have time ‘cause breakfast just went too damned fast.  But I picked it back up in AIT.”

Izumo grinned. “Good. He only drinks it ‘cause I do.”

Kenji grinned. “I started because of you,” he said, bopping Izumo’s nose with his finger. “But now I’m addicted.”

“Haha! Yes!” Izumo cheered. “I don’t mind having a fellow addict.”

“You two are nuts. A little more sleep and you don’t need coffee.”

“Hush, O Lazy One,” Kenji said with a snort which was answered in like by Kotetsu.  Izumo rolled onto his back, stretching and Kenji appreciatively eyed the muscles that moved and shifted.  Izumo grinned up at him and Kenji bent, kissing his friend before peeling Kotetsu’s arm from around his waist. “Let’s get some of that coffee, hmm?” Kenji suggested.  “Before I’m tempted to keep you in bed for a _lot_ longer.”

Izumo chuckled. “Hate to make you do that,” he said, but rolled out of bed and made his way to the dresser.  Kenji leaned up on an elbow to watch Izumo walk, his eyes firmly focused on the tight ass.

“You’ve got a _very_ nice ass,” he muttered, eyes still glued to the body part in question.

Izumo grinned again and bent further than necessary as he opened a drawer.  Kenji, unwilling to let _that_ pass, slipped up behind Izumo and gripped his friend’s hips. “You know, that could get you in big trouble,” he murmured into Izumo’s ear, grinding his morning erection into the cleft of Izumo’s ass.

“Mmm. Careful, I might not consider it trouble,” Izumo said, looking over his shoulder. 

Kenji grinned and dropped a kiss on Izumo’s cheek.  “If I didn’t know your mom was already awake, I’d be taking advantage of that,” he said, then sighed regretfully and stepped back, turning to his duffel to get his own clothes.

“You two are disgusting, you know that?” Kotetsu said, groaning as he forced himself into an upright position.

Izumo glanced over his shoulder.  “What do you mean by that?”

“Just because you’re boyfriends now, doesn’t mean you have to be... _gooey_ ,” he finished, making a face. 

“Uh... Tetsu, what do you mean by _boyfriends_?” Izumo asked, carefully.

“Uh... shit. He didn’t ask yet.” He paused and cleared his throat. “My fuckin’ mouth,” he muttered and sighed. “He was going to ask you to be his boyfriend.  I thought he did last night when he went to get you, ‘swhy I thought you were as mushy as you were just now...” Kotetsu trailed off and looked helplessly from Izumo to Kenji and back again.  “Uh, I’ll just... grab some boxers and leave you two alone...”

“You’ll stay _right_ there,” Izumo said, firmly, eyes still locked to Kenji and Kotetsu stopped dead in his tracks.

Kenji glanced at Kotetsu then back to Izumo.  “Uh... Well, I... Um...”  he stammered, sending another look at Kotetsu.

Kotetsu sighed. “He likes you - whether he’ll admit it or not - and he made a comment last night that he’d like to know he’s got someone at home he can call his, though I know that’s only a small part of it.”

Kenji’s eyes narrowed at Kotetsu, who _did_ gulp audibly then he looked back at Izumo and forced himself to nod. “I was going to ask you, but I was going to wait for a little while before I did.  ‘Til... I dunno, just... ‘til I figured out a better time to ask.”  He swallowed his nervousness and forced himself to meet the brown eyes.

They softened on him and Izumo stepped closer.  “I thought... I thought you and Tetsu would get back together.”

Kenji managed to chuckle a little and shook his head. “He says you’re better boyfriend material.  And look... I wouldn’t expect you two to not do stuff or anything like that.  That wouldn’t be fair.  But I... do... like you and it would be nice to know that I’ve got someone - you - here who thinks about me.”  By the time he finished, his voice had gone quiet.

Izumo glanced at Kotetsu, promising retribution, then back to Kenji.  He bit his lip, swallowed then, to Kenji’s relief, nodded. “Okay.  You know I care about you, Kenji. I don’t know that I could say I love you... yet... or anything but... I do care and I’ll be happy to be that for you.”

Kenji blinked down at Izumo a moment, shocked. “You... will? You’ll be my boyfriend?”  Izumo nodded and Kenji felt the tension drain from him.  He grabbed Izumo up into his arms and caught the man’s lips in a fierce kiss.  When he pulled back, Izumo was grinning.  “Thank you. You’ve... made me very happy.”

The grin widened. “You’ve made me happy, too.” He paused to drop another light kiss on Kenji’s lips.  “We’ll... talk more about it later, okay? I can smell pancakes.”

Kenji nodded and dropped another kiss on Izumo - this time on the end of the nose then the three of them turned to dress quickly.  As they stepped out of the bedroom, Izumo took his hand and he glanced down into the brown eyes focused on him.  He lifted the hand in his and dropped a kiss on it.  “Thank you,” he said again and Izumo leaned up, giving him a soft kiss on his lips.

“Don’t.  I want to.  I’m not sure when I’ll be ready to really love again, Kenji, but... if I’m going to love anyone, it’ll be you,”  he replied and Kenji couldn’t resist pulling Izumo into his arms again.  Kotetsu, stuck behind them in the hall, sighed.

“Hungry here. Can we get to the pancakes?” He asked, but there was humor tinging his voice.  Kenji looked over at Kotetsu and grinned then turned a thoughtful look at Izumo.

“Hmm. Does this mean we don’t kiss him anymore?” He asked and Izumo, picking up the teasing pursed his lips.

“I don’t know. Maybe we shouldn’t... if he’s going to be like this.”

Kenji nodded and they both laughed when Kotetsu protested with a, “HEY! I wouldn’t have suggested this if it meant I didn’t get anything.”

“Please,” Izumo said, shaking his head. “I think you know better. Come on, Mom’s going to be impatient.”  Turning, hand once more in Kenji’s, they headed for the kitchen, a grumbling Kotetsu behind them.

 

“KENJI!” Mrs. Kamizuki shouted as soon as they got to the doorway.  He had to let go of Izumo’s hand because he had two arms full of his... _boyfriend’s_ mom.  He chuckled as he hugged her and she nearly squeezed him in two.  She tightened her arms once more then stepped back.  She looked him over, then clicked her tongue. “Your gorgeous hair...” she said, shaking her head, then sighed. “Ah, well.  I’m glad to see you! Sit down, pancakes are ready. No, wait, wash your hands.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Kenji said, grinning.

“Mom. Stop that ma’am crap, you make me feel old.  Izumo, plates. Tetsu, silverware and when you’re done washing up, Kenji, you can get the glasses and coffee cups.” She turned back to the stove and Kenji, grin wide, met Izumo and Kotetsu’s looks. 

They busied themselves with her orders then settled in with breakfast. “So! Tell me about training! Wait, wait, when do you have to go home?”  Mrs. Kamizuki asked.

Kenji frowned. “I don’t know.  When I talked to Mom, she was with my sister and didn’t know when she’d be home.  She hadn’t been expecting me and with the new baby my sister had, she’s been staying there to help.”

“Aww, that’s too bad.  What about your dad?” She asked, turning to pour coffee for everyone. 

“Well, uh, I won’t be seeing him,” Kenji said, staring at his plate.

“Why not?” Mrs. Kamizuki asked.

“He, well... he doesn’t want to see me,” Kenji managed, swallowing around the lump in his throat.  He glanced at Izumo and gave quiet thanks when his boyfriend put pancakes on his plate for him then fumbled with the butter.

“Why ever not? That’s ridiculous!” Mrs. Kamizuki asked, sounding outraged.

“Well...” Kenji started, then paused and set the butter knife down.  He took a deep breath and looked up.  “He doesn’t agree with my... ‘choices’ as he put them in, uh, my love life.”

Mrs. Kamizuki blinked at him for a long moment.  “Well, he’s a fool and that’s his loss.  Sounds like you’re better off not seeing him.  I’d be thrilled if you stayed here until you have to go back.” She busied herself with her own pancakes but all three men could see her lips tightened in anger.  If that anger was aimed at either Izumo or Kotetsu, they would have been _terrified._ Both were immensely grateful to _not_ be the target.

She set her own knife down with very precise movements and picked up her fork, then glanced around when the boys didn’t move.  Setting the fork back down, she cleared her throat.  “Fool. Plain and simple. You don’t choose it.  And he doesn’t deserve to have you in his life if he’s going to be like that.  I’m sorry that it went that way, but know that I will _never_ judge you.  I love you like one of my own sons.”  She reached out and patted his cheek. “Now. Eat before they get cold.”

All three of them echoed, “Yes, Mom,” then scrambled for their utensils and dug into their food.

 

“I need to do a little bit of shopping. I hate to ask you guys to drive me around, but if I could borrow the Jeep for a little bit, I could do it myself,” Kenji began when the dishes were cleaned up and put away.  “By the time I knew I was coming home, the PX had been cleaned out.  There was next to nothing to buy for you guys.”

“You don’t have to get us gifts,” Izumo started, but Kenji just raised an eyebrow and his mouth snapped closed.  “Uh, you can borrow it, but I actually have a couple of things to get, too, so... I’d be happy to go with you, if you want.”

Kenji nodded and smiled. “Okay.” He glanced up at Kotetsu. “Do you want to go?”

“I don’t wanna be left at home. But... are you gonna be really mushy the whole time?” He asked with a smirk.

Kenji’s lips twitched and in answer, he pulled Izumo against him and laid a long, thorough, intense kiss on his boyfriend.  Izumo responded, his hands coming up to thread through Kenji’s hair and the kiss deepened.  Their tongues slid, both savoring the taste of the other, both forgetting where they were, about the need to breathe, too lost in the feel of the other person.  Kenji tightened his hold on Izumo, pulling him in closer until there wasn’t so much as a speck of air between them.  His cock thickened in his pants and he could feel the answering hardness against his own.  There was a soft moan that took a moment to filter through as coming from Izumo.

He pulled back and they both panted for breath.  It was only the sound of gagging that brought them back to where they were.  They looked over at Kotetsu, who had his finger in his mouth. “Ugh.  I think I _will_ stay home,” he said, turning on his heel and heading toward the bedroom.  Izumo and Kenji grinned, kissed each other once more, then followed their friend.

 

Several hours and a ridiculous number of stores later, they returned home, successful.  Kenji had one of the best days he could remember ever having in his life.  He was tired - shopping and fighting holiday crowds was worse than carrying the fifty pound backpack and running up the side of the mountain during basic training.  But he’d spent the better part of the day holding Izumo’s hand with Kotetsu on the other side of him, so he didn’t really mind so much being tired.

They’d laughed and joked and aside from Izumo being _his_ boyfriend instead of Hayate’s, it was very much like old times.  In a few of the stores, they’d worked together to get the things he wanted for his mom and sister when it looked like he was going to get beaten by another customer.  And that was _literally_ beaten.  He handed the item behind him to Izumo and Kotetsu distracted the customer by knocking something over.  They managed to escape without any bodily harm - either direction.

They’d had lunch and dinner together and he and Izumo only got gagged at once - for feeding each other.  He couldn’t care, though.  He was _way_ too happy to be able to do goofy things like that to get upset at Kotetsu’s comments.  It was easy enough to shut his friend up when he leaned over and planted a kiss on Kotetsu’s lips.  Kotetsu grinned and went back to his own food.

They unloaded the presents he’d had wrapped by the charity group at the mall and put them under the Christmas tree.  He couldn’t resist picking up one with his name on it and shaking it, but it just got snatched out of his hand and put back under the tree.  “No.  You’ll wait like the rest of us,” Izumo said, glaring and he laughed when Kotetsu snuck around Izumo to do exactly the same thing. “I swear to God, Kotetsu Hagane, I’ll take it back,” Izumo said without turning around.  Kotetsu winced and scratched the back of his head.

“Uh... heh... I... err, should probably get my shower.  Yeah, I’ll... be out in a bit then you two can take yours.” So saying, he practically ran out of the living room.  Izumo and Kenji stared at each other for a long moment, then started laughing.

When they managed to stop, Izumo frowned. “He’s acting weird.”

“Yeah, I noticed.  I don’t know what to think.  I don’t want to hurt him with... you know, you and me.  But... he was the one that said I should ask you,” Kenji said, chewing on a lip.

Izumo nodded. “Yeah, that’s true.  I think he’s still just confused in a lot of ways. Maybe he didn’t think we’d, you know, touch and stuff so much.”

Kenji shrugged. “I don’t know. Should we stop?”

Izumo shook his head. “No.”  He closed the short distance between them.  “I am not going to restrict myself while you’re here. God only knows when I’ll see you again.”

Kenji wrapped his arms around Izumo and leaned in, eyes closed to just hold.  He took a deep breath, inhaling Izumo’s scent and memorizing it.  “I’m sorry for that,” he whispered.

“Shhh, don’t,” Izumo replied, laying a line of light kisses along Kenji’s cheek and jaw.  “It is.  No use getting upset about it now.  Let’s just enjoy the time we’ve got, okay?”

Kenji nodded and left his own kisses on Izumo’s cheek.  He fought hard to keep from saying the words, though they wanted, again, to come out badly.  He was saved when he heard a female voice say, “Oh ho! What have we here?”

Izumo and Kenji broke apart.  Kenji started to back off, but Izumo held onto him. “We’re boyfriends,” Izumo said, smile splitting his face.

“Oh how wonderful!” Mrs. Kamizuki exclaimed.  She hurried across the room and wrapped her arms around Kenji. “That’s great news, sweetie,”  she whispered into his ear.  She stepped back and looked between them. “Um...” she paused and pursed her lips. “How do you want to handle... uh... sleeping arrangements?”

Kenji and Izumo blinked at each other. “Oh, well, Kenji slept between us last night.  I just sort of assumed he’d want to again.”

Mrs. Kamizuki’s eyebrows went up. “I’m not sure I want to know what all happens with that... no, wait, I _don’t_ want to know.  I just kind of thought that if you were boyfriends, that, well...” she trailed off and looked uncomfortably from one to the other.

Kenji cleared his throat. “It’s fine, Mom.  There’s enough room for us to _sleep_ ,” he said, carefully emphasizing the word “sleep.”  He met Izumo’s eyes then they both looked back at her.

She blinked a couple of times then nodded. “Right. Of course.  Well, uh, if you change your mind, I can make up a bed for Kotetsu out here or something,” she said.  “And, uh, it’s kind of late. I’ve got the early shift tomorrow. So I’ve got to head to bed. Good night, boys,” she said, dropping kisses on each of them then escaping to her room.

By the time she’d disappeared into the hall, both of them had very red faces. “Well, uh, she knows we have sex,” Kenji said, his voice in a bit of shock.

“And she thinks we _all_ have sex,” Izumo added, nodding.

Kenji nodded back. “Well, she’s right, though. We do... uh, have.”

“Yeah, but... uh... I don’t really want her to _know_ that,” Izumo said, clearing his throat.

“Definitely not, um, something I like her knowing, no doubt about that.  But, uh...” he paused, closed his eyes and took a deep breath then opened them again. “We can’t send Tetsu to the couch.”

“Yeah. He’ll have nightmares,” Izumo said, frowning.

“Hey, come here a sec.”  Kenji pulled on Izumo’s hand and settled in on the armchair, tugging Izumo into his lap.  “I think it’s time we talk about this.”

Izumo shifted so that he was across Kenji’s lap and started to play a bit with the brown strands.  He took a deep breath. “I don’t know what to say.”

Kenji reached up and tilted Izumo’s chin until his boyfriend was looking at him.  “When I talked to you this morning, I said I didn’t expect you to stop what you do with Tetsu and I mean it.  _Especially_ sleeping next to him.  He needs you and I’m not going to mess with that.  I’m also not going to punish you for me not being here.”

Izumo paused and brushed his fingers across Kenji’s cheek, considering him for a long moment.  “I would have. And will.  If it hurt you,” he murmured.  Brown eyes met hazel and Izumo hesitated at the look in them.  “I like having a boyfriend again. I’ve missed it.  And... I’m really glad it’s you, Kenji.”

Kenji swallowed at the expression on Izumo’s face. “I’m... happy to hear that.” His eyes dropped to Izumo’s lips and he licked his own.  “I... I’m the one who made the choice to go into the military, Zu.  I don’t want you to deny yourself because of it.  I don’t want to do that to Kotetsu, either.  I... care.  A lot about both of you and I’d rather you just... stay the way you are.  I’m just happy to know there’s someone who’ll think about me and say they’ve got someone... you know?”  He closed his mouth to stop the run of words.  He was so close to saying something he’d regret.

Izumo nodded.  “I’ll tell people,” he said with a smile. “I have a boyfriend in the military. Out there to defend us.  He’s an amazing man.  Gorgeous and brave.”  He leaned forward and kissed his way slowly along Kenji’s jaw.  “Sexy as hell,” he whispered, nipping at the earlobe.  “And mine.”

Kenji’s heart thumped at the words. _And mine_.  His arms tightened around Izumo and before he could stop himself, he’d caught his boyfriend’s lips in a kiss that left no doubt that he wanted to truly claim Izumo as his own.  Emotions he worked hard to hold back poured out and his hands slid down, feeling and claiming the body in his lap. 

To his surprise, Izumo shifted, straddling his lap then deepened the kiss.  He felt things from it, stuff that he couldn’t believe but pushed those questions away, too happy to just have it happening.  They broke apart and crashed back together over and over, tasting and touching.  Hands dove under shirts and bodies rocked into each other, hard cocks grinding.  Izumo’s hands went into Kenji’s hair as the kiss turned demanding and heat flashed.

Kenji’s hands dropped to Izumo’s ass and cupped, pulling him in.  More rocking and grinding, more nips and bites.  “Want you,” Izumo murmured during a break.  “Need you.”  He had no idea he’d said it, but Kenji caught it and a moan broke loose that couldn’t be held back.

“Shower. Tetsu’s out,” Kenji managed, pulling back and panting hard. “Want you so badly.”  His chest rose and fell with the desperate attempt to take in air.  Izumo stood up and Kenji’s eyes fell to the lump in his lover’s jeans.  One hand was extended and Kenji took it, standing up himself and they both headed into the hallway.  Halfway to the bathroom, he stopped and pushed Izumo against the wall, unwilling to wait any longer.

“Mmm, Kenji,” Izumo groaned when one hand cupped his cock and started rubbing.  “Fuck.”  With a supreme effort, he stood up and pulled Kenji toward the bathroom. 

As they got there, the door opened and Kotetsu stepped out.  “Hey--” he started then sent one look at each of them and his voice dropped and he managed a very husky, “Can I be part of this?”


	4. Chapter 4

Izumo watched him sleep, caught between two equal wants.  He _wanted_ to wake Kenji - to see the beautiful hazel eyes open and full of the emotion that had been so prevalent in them the last week.  And yet, he was happy to continue to look unguarded at the gorgeous face without having to worry about what was on his own. 

Because he was sure that there had been quite a bit on his own.  He could feel himself falling for Kenji, though there was probably more to it than that; he just wasn’t yet willing to admit it.  They had spent an amazing week together with Kotetsu.  They watched movies, played games on the Nintendo or even just sat together and read.  And, of course, had sex. A lot. 

Izumo grinned at the thought of just how much.  They were doing their best to give Kenji as much as they could before he had to leave and Izumo was glad they had another two weeks yet before he had to go.  Sometimes they included Kotetsu, but there were still other times that Kotetsu hadn’t wanted to join in for.  Izumo had wondered about that, but maybe Kotetsu had just seen something that he hadn’t noticed. Because those times had been a lot more emotional than anything and he’d struggled hard with the aftermath.

He found himself wanting to say the words -- to tell Kenji, “I love you.”  He’d bitten his tongue more than once to keep them from coming out.  He wasn’t sure he did, and he didn’t want to give Kenji false impressions.  But it was _so_ hard.  Especially because he was almost positive he’d seen it in the hazel eyes.

He brushed the backs of his fingers across one stubbly cheek.  A few stray strands of brown hair had fallen over Kenji’s face and Izumo pushed them back.  Only a week. Kenji had only been there seven days, they’d only been boyfriends for such a short time and already Izumo knew he was going to miss this man incredibly.  He swallowed around the lump that surfaced over it and reminded himself that they still had two more weeks. 

He turned his head and closed his eyes, resting his face against Kenji’s chest.  His lover only had the lightest dusting of hair and Izumo rubbed his cheek over it before dropping a soft kiss on it.  He sighed and that small sound held a world of confusion and longing in it. 

He was a little afraid, too, that he was just replacing Hayate with Kenji.  He didn’t _think_ so, but he found himself wondering.  If he _was_ falling in love, how could he love like this so soon after Hayate’s death?  Had he really loved Hayate, if that was the case?  He didn’t know, and it was making him more than a little crazy.

He looked back up to see the beautiful eyes open.  He put the questions and fears away for the day and his lips spread into a wide smile. “Good morning, handsome.  Merry Christmas.”

Kenji’s smile was just as wide as his. “Good morning yourself, gorgeous. And Merry Christmas to you.”  He leaned in and their lips met, brushed then opened, tongues sliding for a long, slow taste. Izumo moaned softly into the kiss, his already half-hard cock coming to life fully.  He felt Kenji’s react, too and he couldn’t stop himself from rocking, rubbing them together.  When they broke apart, their eyes met again and something passed between them.  Izumo’s mouth opened then closed, and he swallowed again.  _I... do... I think I do love him._   The thought forced its way into the forefront of his mind and he licked his lips then leaned in to kiss again in an attempt to keep the words locked.

Kenji took the kiss, letting Izumo keep things physical, keep them in familiar, comfortable territory.  He deepened the kiss, rocking again, then rolled them until he was over Izumo.  Izumo’s legs came around him and he moaned softly as their cocks ground again, the pressure _so_ sweet.  Izumo’s hands slid along Kenji’s back to cup his ass and he started moving, neither able to resist the feel, the need.

Izumo poured himself into the kiss, his movements matching Kenji’s, his own need rioting hard through him.  A groan loosed as the pleasure spiked and both moved a little faster as heat flashed.  They broke apart briefly for air, then their lips crashed back together, neither willing to let go for long.  Izumo let out a soft, “Oh God,” on one break and Kenji released an answering hissed “Yes”.

“If you two are gonna fuck, either invite me or wait until I leave, if you don’t mind,” Kotetsu grumbled from his side of the bed.

Both Izumo and Kenji stopped moving and Kenji buried his face in Izumo’s neck, torn between embarrassment and chagrin.  They’d both completely forgotten about Kotetsu.  Izumo wrapped his arms around Kenji in comfort.  “So--” Izumo started then paused to clear his throat. “Sorry,” he managed the second time.

“It’s okay, just don’t like waking up to the bed shaking and my two best friends about to fuck without me.” He paused to yawn. “Do you wanna be alone?”

Izumo’s and Kenji’s eyes met and Izumo bit his lip.  Kotetsu’s voice gave nothing of his opinion away and despite the number of times he’d been involved with them, they both knew without asking the other that this was one of those times that they wanted to keep to themselves.  Neither would admit _why -_ that there was more emotional than physical need to it. 

But they didn’t know how to say it to him, either.  Kotetsu had been withdrawing quite a bit over the last week unless he was part of their activities.  If he walked in and they were kissing, he walked right out again and though they’d chase him down, he’d be quiet and reserved.  Neither Izumo nor Kenji knew what to do about it.

Kenji dropped a quick kiss on Izumo’s lips and pulled back. “Don’t go,” he said, shifting to sit up.  Izumo joined him, unable to _not_ touch right then and Kenji wrapped an arm around Izumo’s back, pulling his lover close.

Kotetsu rolled to face them.  “Are you sure?”

Izumo nodded. “Yes, we are.”  Then he forced himself to smile.”Merry Christmas.  Ready for gifts?”

“Since I’m awake? Hell yeah!”  Kotetsu said, sitting up and Kenji and Izumo laughed, glad that the uncomfortable moment passed.

“I think Mom’s up,” Kenji commented, sniffing. “I smell coffee.”

“Oh God, yes,” Izumo groaned and Kotetsu snorted. “If you say ‘addict’, I swear to God, I will keep your presents for myself or take them back.”

Kotetsu coughed, obviously to bury what he was about to say.  “Yeah, uh, I’m gonna go shower quick,” he said, rolling out of bed.  He paused to look first at Izumo then at Kenji. “That’ll give you a few minutes alone.”  With a grin and short salute, he snatched his boxers off the floor and was through the door a moment later.

Izumo and Kenji looked at each other for a short moment, then Kenji was back between Izumo’s legs and they were once more rocking, lips locked, hands moving over skin.  They broke apart, eyes meeting and the emotion that had been there earlier passed between them again.  Izumo sucked in a breath and swallowed hard to keep the words in. 

Kenji saw it, though, knew that there was something behind the deep brown eyes and he moved back in, needing to taste to keep his own emotion under control.  Soft moans loosed and then Izumo pulled back. “Lube. Want you _now_ ,” Izumo groaned. 

Kenji dove for the drawer on their side of the bed and surfaced with the bottle a few seconds later.  Izumo took it from him and poured some out then coated his cock thoroughly. “Can’t wait, need you inside me... _please_.”

He didn’t waste time.  Izumo laid back and Kenji got into place, pushing slowly into Izumo’s tight body.  They’d been together a lot the last week, but this man never ceased to feel _incredible_ to him.  His eyes slid closed and he groaned loudly. “Oh fuck, baby...”

“Nngh... _yes!”_ Izumo lifted his legs, Kenji resettled himself and started moving, his hand wrapping around Izumo’s cock.  They knew they’d only have a few minutes and though neither really _wanted_ to rush it, they recognized how little time they had.  Izumo braced himself on the headboard and tilted his hips, working to match Kenji’s already nearly-frantic thrusts.  “God, Kenji... fuck... so good!”

“You... oh fuck, you too,” Kenji managed, his eyes closed as he worked to focus on Izumo.  He loved hearing Izumo’s shout, loved stroking Izumo to orgasm and feeling the cock twitch in his hand. And he’d decided that his favorite vision in the world was Izumo in climax, head thrown back, cock shooting cum all over stomach and chest.  A very close second to that was the same thing on Kotetsu.

Izumo grunted, his legs shifting again, then another loud groan escaped when Kenji found his prostate.  “Oh... harder, baby... faster, _please_...”

Kenji wouldn’t deny Izumo anything he could possibly do in the first place, but even more so in bed.  He gave, thrusting harder, moving faster, earning himself the most incredible series of sounds from Izumo’s throat, punctuated with his name.  “Close,” Izumo managed and Kenji groaned in response.

“Yes, baby, cum for me, please...” Kenji encouraged Izumo.  He tightened his hand, twisted slightly, then dragged his palm over the tip of Izumo’s cock.  Kenji had learned that little trick a few days ago and he was rewarded for it as Izumo bit a lip, stifling the shout that wanted to escape when the orgasm hit.  He held on, damned near desperately, to his own pleasure to watch as Izumo went off the edge.  The cock in his hand twitched and Izumo gripped the headboard hard as thick ropes of cum shot out, coating chest, stomach and Kenji’s hand.

And despite his best efforts, it was his undoing.  Kenji’s own lip was caught between his teeth, though the grunts were loud, anyway.  He surged into Izumo and his thrusts turned short and sharp as the climax took him.  The pleasure damned near _exploded_ to the sound of Izumo telling him, “ _Cum, baby_...” and he rode it out, filling his lover as it faded very slowly.

When it was over, he rolled, pulling Izumo with him so he didn’t land on the smaller body.  He managed it while staying buried inside of Izumo and they laid together in silence for a few long moments as they worked to regain the ability to breathe. 

But as his heart slowed and calmed, he found himself with a different reason for his breathing trouble.  He couldn’t do it. He could _not_ do it.  Only a week of being this man’s boyfriend and every time they were together, it was more and more difficult to keep the words buried.  He tightened his arms around his lover and focused carefully on simply not speaking in the hopes that it wouldn’t come out.

“You are amazing, do you know that?” Izumo asked quietly.  He dropped a series of kisses across Kenji’s chest.

“You’re the amazing one, Zu,” Kenji replied and Izumo looked up.  Their eyes met and Izumo swallowed at the look in Kenji’s eyes.  Izumo reached up and brushed his fingers over Kenji’s cheek then shifted and leaned in, their lips meeting to speak in a way that their voices wouldn’t.  Izumo felt it, would have sworn that there was love behind that kiss, the same stuff he was feeling and didn’t want to admit to.

He’d managed over the last week to keep it all carefully hidden, but if there were many more times like this, he was going to slip, he was sure of it.  When they broke apart, Izumo rested his head on Kenji’s shoulder and Kenji’s arms tightened around him.  They lay in silence until they heard the door a few moments later.

“Shower’s clear... and whew, open a window, if you don’t mind,” Kotetsu said, crossing the room to his dresser.

With that, both Izumo and Kenji grinned.  Another quick kiss and they rolled out of bed. “You know, we might consider showering separately... just, you know, so we make sure it doesn’t take long...” Izumo suggested.

Kenji’s lips twisted in a smirk. “After that?  I think we’re safe.” 

Kotetsu snorted at them and Izumo laughed, his eyes twinkling. “I seem to recall a certain shower about a week ago that had you recovering awfully damned fast.”

“What happened a week ago?” Kotetsu asked, turning around and pulling clean boxers on.

Izumo grinned. “After he left you that first night here?” Izumo started and Kotetsu nodded. “Yeah, he came down to tell me it was clear and we stopped so I could shower ‘cause, you know, I didn’t actually get _clean_ in that earlier one.  Anyway, he ended up sucking me off, only to get hard again from it.”

Kotetsu shook his head. “No wonder he can keep up with both of us.”  He turned his eye on Kenji and grinned.

Kenji cleared his throat. “Yeah, well, uh, I smell cinnamon rolls, so...”

Izumo laughed. “Right. Can’t fight the hunger. Come on, let’s get cleaned up.”

 

They managed to keep the shower to just cleaning, though it was interspersed with kisses here and there.  But they _just_ kissed and were out in a _reasonably_ short amount of time. A few minutes later, they were dressed and sitting at the table with coffee and the cinnamon rolls.

“Mom has always made us eat a roll or two before we’re allowed to do gifts,” Izumo explained to Kenji as they sipped their coffee.

“The first year I had them both for Christmas - which was... um... I think they were ten - it was before Tetsu came to live with us permanently... _any_ way, that first year, they tore into their gifts, neither one of them eating a thing, then passed out in the middle of the pile of wrapping paper somewhere around eight in the morning.  Since then, I have required that they eat before we get started. It delays things a little bit and they’re less likely to fall asleep and leave me to clean up their mess.”  Mrs. Kamizuki sent looks at both Izumo and Kotetsu, who looked suitably chagrined.

“Uh, we haven’t done that in a while, Mom,” Kotetsu said.

Mrs. Kamizuki nodded. “I know. And why do you think that is?” She asked, raising her eyebrows.

Izumo snorted. “Because we’re adults now?”  She simply turned the look on Izumo, who shrank in the chair. “Right. Uh, let’s um... go out? Now that we’ve eaten?”

She grinned and, after making sure they put their dishes in the sink, they gathered in the living room around the Christmas tree.  Kenji and Izumo sat together on the couch, Kenji wrapped around Izumo. Mrs. Kamizuki took the armchair and Kotetsu took a spot next to the tree to pass out the gifts.  “I’d like to give mine out first,” Mrs. Kamizuki announced and Kotetsu started to dig through the pile of gifts.

“Let’s see... Kenji’s?” He asked, looking up at his mom.  She smiled and nodded and Kotetsu handed the small box to Kenji.

He glanced up and smiled at her, then took the gift from Kotetsu.  Izumo watched with a smile on his face as Kenji _oh so carefully_ opened the paper.  Izumo took the wrap and Kenji’s mouth dropped open at the box.  He looked up at Mrs. Kamizuki then back at the gift he held. “Mom, this is... too much.”  Kenji opened the box and pulled out the watch that was inside.  It had more buttons and dials than he’d ever seen on a watch before and it looked _expensive_.

“Nonsense. Nothing’s too much for my boys.  I can’t afford some of the things I’d like, but I can do others.  The salesman at the counter said he sold a lot of those to families for their servicemen.  Apparently, it’s a popular one.  I know you’re not allowed a lot of stuff just yet - at least until you find a place you’ll be stationed a while, so I figured a good watch that you can actually _use_ while on duty would do it.  There’s a book to go with it and stuff,” she finished, biting her lip.

Kenji glanced at Izumo then leaned over and left Mrs. Kamizuki a kiss on her cheek. “It’s wonderful, I love it. Thank you.” 

She blushed and grinned, then nodded. “You’re welcome. I told him it was for my son.  There’s an engraving on the back of it,” she said and Kenji took the watch off the stand and turned it over.  _To my son, Kenji. Love, Mom._   Kenji stared at it and had to fight for breath for a moment. 

“Thank you,” he whispered, then touched Izumo’s shoulder.  His lover shifted and Kenji moved over to give Mrs. Kamizuki a hug.  “Thank you so much.”

“You’re welcome. I meant what I said. I love you like one of my own.”  She squeezed him again and he went back to his seat.  He handed the watch to Izumo, who read the inscription, then grinned. 

“Told ya,” he whispered and Kenji’s lips spread into a matching grin.

“Yeah, you did.”  He sighed and looked up as Kotetsu dove under the tree for another gift.

 

Two hours later, Kenji was sitting with his feet on the coffee table, headphones on his head with his new copy of Live’s _Throwing Copper_ playing on the Walkman, Gameboy in his hand as he led Samus through the tunnels on the planet SR388, killing Metroid creatures.  In Kenji’s lap was Izumo’s head, his hands holding the new Playstation controller as he and his human allies fought against Kotetsu’s orcs while they battled it out for control of Lordaeron.  “NO! Dammit,” Izumo cursed.  “Fine. That’s fine. I’ll get it back.” 

Kenji looked down at his boyfriend and grinned, pausing the Gameboy then brushed hair out of Izumo’s eye. “You know, if you could see with both eyes, you wouldn’t lose ground to him.”

Izumo snorted.  “I was just... uh... distracted,” he said. “That’s all.”

Kenji snickered.  “Distracted. Right. By what?”  He asked, raising his eyebrows.

Izumo blushed.  “Uh...”  He paused.  _By your scent, by just being near you.  “_ Fine. It was my hair,” he said instead.

“Uh huh.”  Kenji just shook his head, tucked Izumo’s hair behind one ear, then brushed his fingertips over one cheek. “Go kick those orcs off your planet.  Mom’s going to be ready for dinner soon.”

Izumo grinned and turned his attention back to the screen.  He reached up and ran his fingers over the dog tag hanging from the silver chain around his neck.  He’d read and reread the imprint on it more than a dozen times and could almost tell what each line was just by feel. 

_NARITA, KENJI A.  
_ _012048  
_ _O+  
_ _NO RELIGIOUS PREF_

_“I’m not really supposed to lose them, but guys do it all the time.  Give ‘em to their girlfriends or whatever.  So I thought it was something simple you could have of me.”  Kenji hooked the chain together and closed the clasp then ran his hand down over the links.  He glanced up as Kotetsu opened his box and raised his eyebrows._

_“Both of us?” Kotetsu asked and Kenji nodded._

_“Yeah. Is that... okay?” Kenji asked, momentarily worried that he was too obvious._

_“Hell yeah. Thanks!” Kotetsu said with a grin and moved across the floor for Kenji to put his on, too.  Kenji let out the breath he was holding and put it around Kotetsu’s neck._

There were other gifts.  He got them a second game for their Playstation - after talking with their mom to find out they were getting it.  He also picked up a new CD for each of them and spent a lot of time just enjoying the reactions to their gifts. 

The _really_ fun gift came after the Playstation and before the Gameboy.  Kotetsu had been itching for a new camera since his took a nosedive into the river during a camping trip over the summer.  So, when he opened the Polaroid Captiva instant camera, he was _thrilled_.  He’d been dropping hints about one for the better part of the previous four months. 

As he opened it, he found not one, not two, but _three_ boxes of film to go with it.  The first thing he did was load it up and snap a picture of Kenji.  Then Mom made a comment that she thought they might want to take some pictures of each other for Kenji to take back.  _Then_ she made sure to point out that they could take _any kind_ of pictures they wanted since it was an instant camera.  The knowing look she sent them nearly had all three of them wanting to sink into the floor.

Kenji had a feeling he’d be remembering that Christmas for a long time to come.

 

Later that evening when Christmas ham, vegetables and more eggnog than most people had a right to drink had been consumed, they were once again in front of the Playstation.  Kenji had just pushed Kotetsu’s orcs off of the planet and Izumo was cursing his fifth attempt at beating level eight in _Tetris_.

“Okay, I think it’s about time for bed, don’t you, babe?” Kenji asked and Izumo looked up just as the sound went off to prove he lost the level _again_. 

Izumo glanced at the clock, surprised to see that it was nearly ten.  “Wow, it _is_ later than I expected, but we could probably stay up for a bit yet.  It _is_ Christmas.”

“I’m not going to bed yet,” Kotetsu announced from his chair.  “I’m determined to find a way to invade this damned planet.  You two go ahead.  Give me some quiet time to figure it out.”

“Would you put my stuff away, babe? I’m going to stop in the bathroom...” Kenji said and Izumo raised his eyebrows but nodded.

“Okay.  I’ll be back there in a few minutes.”  Izumo leaned up and accepted the kiss that Kenji dropped on his lips then turned to put the gifts together.  He heard the bathroom door close, and tried not to wonder too much what was up.  If Kenji just wanted to have sex, he didn’t need to go to these lengths to keep it secret. 

Izumo shook it off and stacked their things under the tree, then straightened up the couch and even organized Kotetsu’s gifts, doing his best to kill time until Kenji was done.  Finally, he heard the bathroom door again.  “Okay, if I don’t hear you come in, night, Tetsu.”

“Night, Zumo. Hav... uh... sleep well,”  Kotetsu replied, his attention focused just a little too much on the screen.

“Thanks,” Izumo said, his eyebrows twisted in a scowl.  He shook his head. “Later,” he muttered as he started for the hall.  He saw their bedroom door close just as he rounded the corner.  Deciding it would be nice if his breath didn’t kill Kenji when they kissed, he stopped in the bathroom to brush his teeth. 

And finally, a few moments later, he was standing outside of his bedroom.  He reached for the knob, then lifted his hand and dropped one knuckle on the wood in a soft knock.  “Kenji?” He called softly.

The door opened a crack and Izumo saw Kenji in nothing but his sweatpants.  “Hey, babe,” he said, moving back.

Izumo stepped into the room and stopped to stare around himself.  On every surface of the room were candles.  He looked up to meet Kenji’s eyes, then let his gaze travel around the room again.  “Kenji?” He asked and blinked again, raising an eyebrow and fighting the amusement that wanted to surface.  “Candles?”

Kenji shrugged and looked uncomfortable. “I didn’t want the lights on, but I wanted to be able to see you,” he mumbled.  “Lights outside aren’t bright enough.”

Izumo smiled and stepped up to his boyfriend.  “It’s great.  I love it.  I was just surprised, that’s all.  Kenji...  what’s this about?”

Kenji swallowed, obviously nervous.  “Well, um... you know that... uh...” he stuttered and Izumo could see his cheeks were very red, even in the low candlelight. 

“What do you want, babe? I’ll do anything for you,” Izumo whispered, reaching up to lay a hand on Kenji’s cheek.  Kenji took a deep breath and blew it out and Izumo could smell the toothpaste, which only reinforced just how nervous Kenji was.  “You’re adorable when you’re nervous,” Izumo said, smile spreading.  He leaned up and kissed Kenji and his lover’s arms came around him, holding tight. 

The kiss was light, brushes of lips, soft nibbles, but it seemed to be enough.  When they broke apart, Kenji cleared his throat.  “I haven’t bottomed since that one time a _really_ long time ago with...  And, well,  I... I thought that it would be a good night for... um...”  He paused to take another breath.  “Tetsu just told me the other day that you usually top when you’re with him.  I didn’t know that.  And I figure it’s time for me to get over that dislike of it and it’s only fair for you to be able to top sometimes. So...”  He trailed off and Izumo’s smile widened into a grin.

“Babe, it’s okay. I don’t _mind_ bottoming. Not that I don’t like to top, too.  But... if you’re not comfortable bottoming, it’s okay,” Izumo shook his head. 

“Well.  Tetsu told me you’re really good at it.  And I _do_ want to get over this.  I mean, that one time wasn’t, like, majorly traumatic or anything, but it _was_ pretty bad.  And, well, I’d just... like to replace it.  With you,” he finished, blowing out another breath.

Izumo considered him for a moment, then nodded. “Okay,” he said, taking Kenji’s hand.  He drew his lover further into the room to the side of the bed.  He needed to get Kenji relaxed or it was going to be as bad as the first time was.  He leaned in and his mouth met Kenji’s again.  He kept it light and teasing, running his lips over Kenji’s then _just_ nipping, and finally taking a longer taste.  He threaded his fingers up into Kenji’s short locks and leaned into his boyfriend’s hold.

He could feel the tension start to drain out of Kenji’s body.  He wasn’t about to rush this.  But he felt better, at least, that Kenji wasn’t _quite_ as tense.  He started to run his hands over the defined chest, adding his lips to the mix and making a trail down Kenji’s neck toward one nipple.  He paused to tease it with his tongue, pulling a gasp from Kenji then moving over to the other.  He sucked this one in, biting down gently and that earned him a moan. 

He let his hands drop to Kenji’s waist and his fingers slipped under the waistband of the fabric.  Slowly, he pushed them down until they cupped the luscious ass and he pulled Kenji against him, grinding their hardening cocks together.  “Mmm, I love the way you smell, baby,” Izumo whispered, pulling his hands back and continuing to make a trail of kisses over skin.

“Love your smell, too, Zu,” Kenji said, his hands running up to Izumo’s shoulders, pushing long brown hair aside.  On finger traced a line over Izumo’s neck, sending shivers through his skin.  Kenji had learned all of his sensitive spots very well over the last week and never hesitated to exploit them.

Izumo stepped back and reached for the hem of his shirt, but Kenji pulled his hands away and tugged it _slowly_ over his head instead, dragging fingertips and blunt nails over his skin and leaving goosebumps in their wake.  The t-shirt landed in the general direction of the laundry basket, without a damn being given whether it really made it. 

Then the distance was closed, though neither knew which one moved, and their lips were sealed again in another kiss. This one was much deeper, much more thorough as tongues danced and tasted.  Soft moans escaped as their hands slid over skin. 

This time as Izumo’s fingers found fabric, he started to push it down over Kenji’s hips.  He leaned back to watch the hard cock bounce as it was freed, then released the pants to let them pool at his lover’s feet.  Kenji stepped out of them and kicked them away, then closed the distance again, pulling Izumo into his arms, their lips crashing back together.

Somewhere along the way, Izumo’s pants joined Kenji’s and they were finally both naked.  Their cocks brushed,dragging a louder moan from Kenji’s throat and Izumo had to fight hard to remember what he was supposed to be doing.  With a supreme effort, he pulled back and looked into the Kenji’s eyes. “Lay down, babe,” Izumo whispered and Kenji obliged, stretching out on his back, eyes glued to Izumo’s.

Izumo crawled onto the bed, leaning over Kenji.  He straddled one leg, letting his hard cock slide along his lover’s and he paused to savor the gasp it brought.  He rocked, grinding into Kenji for a long moment, watching his lover’s gorgeous face as hazel eyes slid closed and moans started to fall.  Then he reminded himself that he had something to do and pulled away, a small smile tilting his lips at the disappointed grunt Kenji gave over it.

He left another kiss on his lover’s lips, this one much shorter, then started to make a trail over chest and stomach.  He took his time, kissing everything, teasing skin, tracing lines and listening to the gasps and moans in Kenji’s voice.  He teased chest, stomach and thighs, found new spots that drew sounds, traced the edges of navel and crease of leg.

When he made his way back up Kenji’s body, he tried to ignore the straining cock, but couldn’t resist the red, hard length.  He paused and glanced up to see Kenji’s gaze fixed on him.  As much as he would have liked to forget everything and swallow the incredible cock in front of him, he forced himself to keep it to light tastes.  He dragged his tongue from tip to base and back up again.  He ran it around the crown, under the ridge, then teased the slit, all to louder and more desperate moans. 

Finally, knowing he wouldn’t be able to resist much longer, he finished the trip up Kenji’s body.  As he left a kiss to Kenji’s neck and a nibble to one earlobe, he slipped the drawer open, grabbing the bottle of lube as he did so.  With another kiss to his lover’s lips, he murmured, “Roll over for me.”

Kenji did as Izumo and he saw the tension return to the body under him.  He slipped the bottle of lube under the pillow and instead went back to relaxing his lover.  More kisses, more trails, he dragged his lips over muscles and spine, spending an inordinate amount of time counting vertebrae and ribs with his mouth.  Bit by bit, Kenji relaxed again and by the time Izumo was faced with his lover’s amazing ass, Kenji wasn’t the least bit tense any longer.

Izumo kissed his way over each cheek, then parted them gently.  He leaned in and licked softly at the tight muscle then kissed either side of it before bringing his tongue back again.  As he teased the ring, Kenji started to move under him, the moans getting much louder.  Izumo worked it, pulling every bit of pleasure he could from it out of Kenji.  And so when he pushed his tongue in, instead of Kenji tensing, the groan that came out would have awakened Izumo’s mom had it not been muffled by a pillow. 

Izumo pulled back, teasing taint and balls just a little, smiling when Kenji pushed his ass back, asking for more.  He went back to it, running his tongue over every tiny bit then pushed it through again, dragging another moan from his lover.

Judging the time right, he pulled back and kissed his way up along Kenji’s spine as he slipped his hand under the pillow for the bottle of lube.  He left more kisses on his way back down again then he sat back on his knees and opened the bottle.  The click of the cap was loud and Kenji tensed just a bit at it.  Izumo put a hand on his lover’s hips.  “Push back for me, babe, it’ll be fine.”  He dropped another kiss on each cheek as Kenji did as he asked, then he poured the slick over his finger. 

He went slowly - _very_ slowly, running the tip over the muscle again, giving Kenji a chance to know what was happening.  Then he pushed it in slightly, keeping it slow and deliberate.  “Oh...” Kenji breathed. “That feels... good.”

“Mmmm,” Izumo replied, dropping another kiss on Kenji’s ass.  He was damned near insane by this time, his cock so hard it almost hurt.  But he forced himself to ignore it, to pay attention to his lover and do this in a way that would give Kenji what was needed - to replace bad with good. 

He worked the finger around, thrusting slowly and felt the muscle begin to relax.  He felt around as best he could, but couldn’t quite find what he was looking for yet.  He continued to pump his finger for another moment, then he pulled it out, added more lube and a second finger to the mix.  Yet again, he massaged the muscle, giving Kenji plenty of notice, then the fingers pushed inside.  This time, there was no tension and Kenji groaned even louder. “Fuck... good...” he grunted and Izumo smiled.

Izumo kept it slow, still working his fingers around.  He was determined to have Kenji as relaxed and open as he could for this.  He and Kotetsu had rushed more than once and the aftermath had him seeking soft cushions for a couple of days. 

Izumo touched Kenji’s hip again and Kenji pushed back once more, lifting his hips further.  Izumo reached between Kenji’s legs to find a partial erection.  He started stroking it as he pumped his fingers and the moans came faster, got louder as Izumo worked.  He bit his lip and tried again, feeling carefully and when he got another loud grunt, he knew he’d found Kenji’s prostate. 

He heard Kenji’s breathing get shorter as he teased the swollen gland and when the cock in his hand was hard, he pulled his fingers out once more.  He leaned forward and dropped another series of kisses across Kenji’s skin as he poured more lube over his fingers. “Stay relaxed, love,” he murmured. “And push against my fingers.” 

There was a slight tensing when the three started to push in along with a grunt that wasn’t nearly as happy sounding as the others.  Izumo whispered another “Relax” and felt the pressure around his fingers start to ease.  Kenji’s cock had started to go soft with the new tension and Izumo stroked it again as he pushed his fingers into his lover until he was able to pump them with ease.  “That’s it, love,” Izumo encouraged.  “Mmm, you feel so good. I can’t wait to feel you.” Izumo continued to whisper things like that until the tension had eased once more.  “Are you ready, love?” Izumo asked.

In answer, Kenji moaned and pushed his hips back. A soft “Please” came out and Izumo snatched up the lube bottle one last time to finally coat his cock.  He bit his lip briefly and paused to consider if he should have Kenji ride him, but his lover was relaxed and waiting and he didn’t want to give Kenji any chance to change his mind.  So he lined up and ran the tip of his cock along Kenji’s crack, teasing entrance and skin. 

When he got another groan and rock of hips, he pushed the head in slowly past the muscle.  He had to fight hard to hold on. It’d been awhile since he’d topped and he’d be damned if he went off like some virgin.  He focused his attention on Kenji, listening to the breathing that was short. He saw tension in the back and ran his hand down the skin, then curled over and left a few more kisses. 

Kenji started to relax again and Izumo continued to fill his lover.  He kept it very slow, pushing further, then easing back.  “Fuck,” Kenji grunted. “That’s... that’s actually really good, Zu.”

Izumo smiled into the skin on Kenji’s back and pushed just a little further until he was buried completely. “You feel fucking _amazing_ , baby,” Izumo murmured, kissing his way along one shoulder. 

“Mmmm. So do you, God, this... so different,” Kenji managed.

“Good,” Izumo replied.  He gave Kenji another few seconds to get used to the feel of being filled, then he pulled back and gave a very slow thrust. 

“Oh _fuck,_ yes!” Kenji groaned.  “More. Please.”

Izumo’s hands tightened on Kenji’s hips and he squeezed his eyes shut, fighting for control.  The need in Kenji’s voice, the tight body around him were making it exceedingly difficult.  He wanted to pull back and thrust _hard_ but the thought of ruining this for Kenji held him back. 

But he did give Kenji what he’d been asked for.  He pulled back and started thrusting, though he kept it slow.  He’d make this good for his lover if it killed him.  And at this rate, it just might. 

The grunts grew in volume and before long, Kenji’s hips were rocking and he was meeting Izumo’s thrusts.  Izumo, in an attempt to distract himself from the fucking _incredible_ feel, reached around and started stroking Kenji’s cock.  He was a little surprised to feel it still hard after all of that, but grateful that it was. 

He fought to keep time with his hand and his hips and it helped keep him back from the edge.  Though the sounds that Kenji let out were working to directly counter to his efforts.  He concentrated very hard on it and a short time later, he was rewarded.

“Not yet,” Kenji forced out.  “Not ready yet, baby. Let... let me ride you.”  He glanced over his shoulder and Izumo smiled, pulling out and settling in on the bed.  Kenji straddled him and he held his cock still as his lover eased down onto the length.  “Oh fuck,” Kenji groaned as he sank down until Izumo was fully buried.

“Fuck is right,” Izumo groaned, eyes closed. “God, you’re tight. And hot. And feel _so_ fucking good.”  He reached up and rested his hands on Kenji’s legs.  He took a deep breath, bit his tongue, causing a little pain and brought himself back from the edge.  He opened his eyes to meet Kenji’s. “Lean back, it’ll feel better,” he whispered.

Kenji did, resting his hands on Izumo’s thighs then lifted his hips and slid back down. Another groan, this one wordless, and the hazel eyes slammed closed. Kenji did it again and Izumo watched in fascination as Kenji started moving faster, pleasure taking over his handsome face.  Izumo reached out and wrapped his hand around the bouncing cock and stroked it.  “Oh fuck... too... oh God, too much, Zu, _please,_ ” he nearly begged.

Izumo let go, and as Kenji shifted up, he started moving his own hips, thrusting up to meet Kenji on the way down.  This brought a new set of sounds from both of them and in a few moments, they were both fighting hard against the need to cum.  “Close, babe,” Izumo grunted and received a similar sound in reply.

But just before Izumo was going to go off, Kenji lifted up. Izumo blinked up at his lover, but Kenji settled in on the bed next to him and when Kenji lay on his back, looking up at him, Izumo saw what Kenji wanted.  He paused to add a bit more lube, then crawled into place.  He knelt up between Kenji’s raised legs and slowly filled his lover one more time. 

He leaned forward, then, their lips meeting.  This kiss was sloppy and emotional and full of things that Izumo couldn’t begin to untangle.  When they broke apart, he buried his face in Kenji’s neck for a moment, trying to gather the shreds of his sanity.  Kenji’s arms came around him and his lover’s face rubbed against his. 

Pulling himself together, Izumo raised up and met Kenji’s eyes, then started moving again.  And he knew that this time, there was no way he’d be able to stop it.  In what felt like only a few strokes, he was flying toward the edge, already.  He kept his gaze locked to Kenji’s as he thrust, Kenji’s hips rolling to meet his.  He wrapped a hand around his lover’s cock, using that need to focus on Kenji to help him keep his control, though it was still only by a thread.  But a few moments later, he was rewarded.  “Close,” Kenji managed and Izumo nodded.

“Me, too, love. Cum for me, Kenji. Let me see you cum,” he forced out and tightened his hand. He found the spot on the bottom of Kenji’s cock that he’d discovered drove his lover insane and he teased it with his thumb.  And it was _just_ enough.  Kenji threw his head back, stuffed a fist in his mouth and shouted as the orgasm hit.  Izumo watched, eyes wide, as thick ropes of cum shot out to cover his hand, Kenji’s stomach and chest and even his his lover’s face and hair.  The shouts - muffled versions of “fuck” and “Izumo,” stretched out and Izumo managed to hold on through most of it. 

But then the muscles around his cock clamped down and one more “Izumo” - much clearer this time - came out and he lost it.  His eyes slammed closed, he surged hard into Kenji as the pleasure hit, consuming him with its strength.  His eyes flew open wide when he felt it sizzle along his nerves and up his spine.  He knew he made sound, couldn’t have stopped it to save his life, but he had no idea _what_.  The pleasure was so sharp, so hard, he lost the capacity to think, to form anything other than wordless shouts and grunts. 

When he came down from it, he collapsed onto Kenji, unable to move much.  Kenji’s arms came around him and he turned his face up to bury it in his lover’s neck.  He had the stray thought that he was grateful he’d landed on the other side of Kenji’s face from the mess, but then even that thought dissolved as quickly as it had formed.

“Mmm, baby...” Kenji said.  He was still panting, still working to recover breath.  “So... fucking... amazing.”

"You were... just... so... " Izumo shook his head and looked up. When deep brown met hazel, both sets of eyes widened as something hit, passed between and wrapped around them in that moment. It was hard, visceral and it was a truth that they could no longer deny. “I... I love you,” Izumo whispered.

“I love you, too, Izumo,” Kenji replied and their lips crashed together, the kiss sealing the words.

When they broke apart a long time later, they simply lay together quietly, unable to put any more words to what had already been said.  They loved, they’d admitted it, but... now what?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Credits for this chapter:
> 
> Live's album "Throwing Copper" was produced by Radioactive Records (who has gone out of business and the rights have reverted back to the band).
> 
> Walkman is a trademark of Sony Electronics.
> 
> Gameboy is owned by Nintendo Corp.
> 
> Playstation is property of Sony Computer Entertainment.
> 
> Lordaerron and it's concepts are part of Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness which belongs to Blizzard Entertainment and Electronic Arts.
> 
> Samus, SR388 and Metroid are part of Metroid II: Return of Samus, which is property of Nintendo.
> 
> Tetris, the Gameboy version is property of Bullte-proof Software and Nintendo.
> 
> Polaroid and Captiva are trademarks of the Polaroid company. 
> 
> I think that covers it. Whew! Yay Christmas. >.>


	5. Chapter 5

"So, have either of you been here yet?" Kenji asked as they approached the box office.

Izumo shook his head. "No. We thought about it back during fall break, but we had so much homework at the time that we decided to put it off. I’m glad, now, that we did." He smiled up at his boyfriend, who returned it. 

Kotetsu resisted rolling his eyes, barely. They’d been making eyes at each other for the better part of the last few days - since Christmas night, in fact. "Yeah, we were gonna go see _Starship Troopers_ , but we just never got around to it. I guess we can catch that one on video. I’m looking forward to seeing _Tomorrow Never Dies_. I’m glad we’re finally able to. I wanna see this before it..." Kotetsu stopped and glared at the sign in front of them, then glanced over to see Izumo scowling and Kenji frowning. "Well, fuck."

Kenji sighed. "That’s one way of putting it. What do we do now?" He asked, waving a hand at the sign. "I wouldn’t have expected it to be sold out at this time of day."

Izumo shook his head. "Me, either. I guess it’s the holiday. Damn. Uh... do you guys want to see something else?"

Kotetsu frowned at the sign and considered the options. " _Titanic_ is out. In fact, I’m not really interested in most of the other ones. I would have seen _The Postman_ , maybe, but that’s sold out, too. Uh... shoulda got here earlier," he grumbled.

"That’s not going to help," Izumo said. "What about _Alien Resurrection_?" Izumo asked, doubtfully.

Kotetsu’s lips twisted in thought. "I guess we could give it a try. Kenji?"

Kenji shrugged. "I don’t much care. Once I’m shipped out, I’ll get to see whatever the base happens to get in. So, I doesn’t matter to me, since I’m still with you guys."

Kotetsu nodded. "Well, it’s about aliens and has badass Sigourney Weaver in it, can’t be that bad, can it?"

Izumo shrugged. "I dunno. Apparently, you know more about it than I do. I haven’t heard great things, but it’s worth a try. Let’s just go. If it’s that bad, we can heckle it in whispers or something."

Kotetsu smirked. "Yeah, or something. Let’s go."

With tickets purchased, they stopped for popcorn and drinks then headed into the theater. "Whoa. I’ve never seen stadium seating before. This is cool. Where do we sit?" Kenji asked, glancing at the other two.

"Hmm. I don’t know," Izumo said, staring up at the upper levels. "If we get bored, we’ll want somewhere quiet so we don’t disturb other people watching."

"Let’s just take the back corner. I don’t think any of the seats in these are really _bad_ , so if we get into it, it’ll still be good," Kotetsu pointed out, then started climbing the stairs.

"I heard on the morning show your mom was watching this morning that they expect these kind of theaters to be normal in just, like, a few years. And eventually will replace all of them," Kenji commented as they took their seats. There were three across in the side section they’d chosen of the very last row in the theater. "Whoa, cool up here."

Izumo grinned. "Yeah, it is." He picked an end seat, Kenji sat next to him and Kotetsu took the spot on the other side of Kenji. After a shared kiss with his boyfriend, Izumo passed the popcorn bucket and they started talking about their games while they waited for previews. 

The previews were fun and featured a Quentin Tarantino film, a romance, a thriller with Demi Moore and a teaser about something that looked very sci fi for the summer. Then the lights went down completely, the sound got louder and all three focused on the film.

It became apparent pretty quickly, though, that it wasn’t going to be anything any of them were really interested in. Kotetsu got bored first but Izumo tried valiantly to pay attention to the movie. Kenji, caught between the two, _tried_ for Izumo’s sake, but he was having trouble, too. Kotetsu leaned in and whispered something that made Kenji snicker and Izumo glanced over. Kenji did his best to straighten his face out, but he failed miserably. Izumo smirked and turned back to the movie.

But a few minutes later, despite their best attempts, both Kotetsu and Kenji lost interest again. Kenji leaned over to Izumo and whispered, "This is awful."

Izumo frowned and nodded. "Yeah, I was hoping it wouldn’t be, but... it is. Really bad."

Kotetsu glanced around as they whispered and noted that there were relatively few people in the theater. He saw that the nearest couple was a good six rows away, halfway across the theater and involved in some rather... attention-consuming activities. When Kotetsu saw the girl slip down below the seat backs, his eyebrows went up, his lips twisted into an evil smile and he glanced over at his friends. Kenji looked at him, raising his own eyebrows and Kotetsu leaned in. "I have a perfectly... _wicked_ idea. Uh... kiss your boyfriend for me, hmm?"

Kenji blinked at him a moment in question, then shrugged and turned to Izumo. He tilted his boyfriend’s chin, turning Izumo’s face toward him and captured the lips in a long, thorough kiss. Izumo hesitated briefly, then relaxed and returned it. 

Kenji felt movement next to him, then in front and finally on the other side. He opened his eyes to see Kotetsu kneeling in front of Izumo and he fought to keep from smiling as he realized what his friend meant to do. He turned his attention back to keeping Izumo’s on him and deepened the kiss.

Kotetsu grinned up at the two of them when he settled in place and popped the button open on Izumo’s jeans. Izumo pulled away from Kenji and stared down at his best friend, "Tetsu? What are you _doing?_ " He demanded in a loud whisper.

Kotetsu put a finger to his lips and his grin grew. Izumo’s eyes widened and he looked around, catching Kenji’s eye. His own narrowed and he leaned in. "Did you know about this? Is _that_ why you kissed me?"

Kenji cleared his throat. "Only, uh, partially?" He said, making it sound like a question and scratched the back of his head. "He said to kiss you and who am I to question that?"

Izumo rolled his eyes, but couldn’t hide the grin completely. He shook his head then his attention was drawn to Kotetsu when his zipper was tugged down and his cock was pulled out of his underwear. He looked around in a slight panic, but no one was watching them and, in fact, most of the other people in the theater were involved in other pursuits. He swallowed around his suddenly dry throat and looked back at Kotetsu, who’d paused, eyebrows raised. Izumo glanced at Kenji, who was watching him, then nodded and turned back to his boyfriend to start kissing again.

Which was a good thing because Kotetsu was _very_ good at what he was doing and it took everything Izumo had to keep from moaning or making some other noise. He put a hand in the black spikes and the other one gripped Kenji’s shirt. Kotetsu had immediately swallowed his cock and it took very little time for Izumo to be _hard_. He found himself bucking in the seat without meaning to and it took all he had to go back to sitting still.

Because Kotetsu’s tongue was making it _very, very_ difficult. It teased spots and traced lines, ran around the crown then down the length. Izumo’s hand tightened in the spikes, bringing a quiet hum from Kotetsu’s throat that ran along his cock, which only served to make him pull again at his friend’s hair. He and Kenji broke apart and both stared at the head bobbing in his lap and he let his own drop back against the seat, his eyes sliding closed. A whispered " _fuck_ " slipped out and Kotetsu doubled his efforts. 

But then he started tugging on Izumo’s jeans and Izumo probably should have fought it, but he was too far gone to do much. Instead, he lifted his hips and let his clothes be moved, then Kotetsu pulled his balls out and licked at each on before sucking lightly on them. Izumo’s hands tightened and he bit almost violently at his lip to fight the need to make noise. He was hard as a rock by this time and could feel himself hurtling toward the edge quickly.

Then his lips were caught in another kiss, Kenji reached under his shirt and started playing with his nipples and Izumo knew he was going to lose it. He pulled back, whispered something to that effect, then kissed Kenji again, rocking his hips and thrusting into Kotetsu’s mouth. A harder suck was given, Kotetsu took all of Izumo’s cock in, then swallowed around the now-sensitive head and Izumo lost it. He gripped Kotetsu’s hair _hard_ as he came, the pleasure sharp as it hit. 

He poured his load into Kotetsu’s mouth as the orgasm hung on. Kenji caught the tiny sounds that escaped Izumo’s mouth and finally, it started to fade. He melted into the seat, Kenji let him go and he panted hard as he tried to get a hold of himself. 

"Holy fuck," he whispered, reaching for the drink he shared with Kenji to wet his dry throat. Kenji and Kotetsu both grinned at him and he met the grins with a wide one of his own. After another moment, he wiggled around, tucking himself away and putting his clothes to rights then watched as Kotetsu got back into place.

"I want to give him the same," Kenji whispered to Izumo, who nodded. "Kiss him for me?" Izumo nodded again and a moment later, he’d taken Kenji’s seat and Kenji was on the floor in front of Kotetsu. 

This didn’t take any longer than it did for Izumo and, in fact, quite a bit less as Kotetsu was already worked up from giving to Izumo. As Kenji started to work, Izumo watched him open his own pants and start to stroke himself. Izumo leaned in and whispered to his boyfriend, "Don’t finish yourself. I want to take care of that."

Kenji pulled off and looked up at him and Izumo nodded. Kenji grinned then went back to pleasuring Kotetsu and Izumo caught his friend’s lips one more time. Kotetsu’s arm came around him and pulled him closer and Izumo’s eyes closed as they kissed.

It still felt... different with Kotetsu. There always seemed to be something to their kisses that still got Izumo. He didn’t understand it, never could. When they’d been together after Hayate died, he’d started to wonder if there was something that he was imagining. He’d wondered if he was putting his feelings for Hayate into Kotetsu, but he had to admit it had been there _before_ Hayate, too. He just didn’t understand it.

And now, he had Kenji. He _did_ love Kenji - he’d finally admitted it to himself and his lover. And Kenji loved him. That’s what he’d seen in the hazel eyes that he didn’t want to admit to recognizing. And in another week and a half, when Kenji left to get shipped out, it was going to be hard as hell and very miserable. But he couldn’t have stopped falling in love, he recognized that.

They broke apart briefly then brown eyes met black and held for a long moment. Kotetsu looked confused and unsure of something and Izumo, unable to deal with any more questions for the moment closed the distance and captured Kotetsu’s lips again. Kotetsu tensed then as Kenji apparently did something and the hand in Izumo’s shirt tightened. A moment later, he swallowed a series of grunts as Kotetsu obviously came.

Izumo pulled back and was glad to see Kotetsu’s eyes stay closed as the black head fell back against the seat. Kenji started to stand and Izumo hurried to move out of the way. And as Kenji settled in the seat, Izumo’s eyes fell to the very hard cock sticking out of Kenji’s jeans. Glad for something to take his attention, Izumo got down in front of his boyfriend and swallowed the hard cock in one move. 

Kenji’s eyes were glued to his boyfriend until his cock was engulfed in the hot mouth, then he turned and quickly kissed his other best friend lest he let out sounds that would be a little too obvious in the otherwise quiet theater. Kotetsu started kissing him back, one hand going up into the short brown hair and Kenji wrapped his arm around Kotetsu. He lost himself in the kiss, the feel of Izumo’s mouth on him, of the two of them. 

He wouldn’t last long, not after the other two’s orgasms. He was so wound up, he was already ready to explode and when his lover’s talented tongue started in on him, he was ready to go off any moment. He threaded his fingers through Izumo’s hair, but reminded himself that his boyfriend did _not_ like pain and tried to keep from pulling. Instead, he pushed his other hand into the black spikes and pulled on those when the pleasure turned sharp.

A grunt came out, despite his best efforts when Izumo swallowed him. Then the hands toyed with his balls, Kotetsu deepened the kiss and Kenji’s orgasm hit him. He managed to keep it to only a quiet moan, but as the climax took over and the pleasure roared through him, he had a very difficult time of it. Were it not for Kotetsu’s mouth, he was quite sure the entire theater would have known what was going on. Instead, he kept quiet, filling his lover’s mouth with his cum, his body shuddering through the insane pleasure. 

Izumo kept him in that hot mouth until he started to go soft, then took the seat next to him again. Kenji turned and kissed Izumo and the taste of his own cum on his boyfriend’s tongue was, as always, a turn on. He was grateful he’d just finished or things might have gotten heated all over again. He pulled back from the kiss and nuzzled Izumo’s face. "Love you, baby," he whispered and Izumo’s arms tightened around him.

"Love you, too," Izumo replied. They kissed again then Kenji turned to Kotetsu. 

"Thanks," he whispered and Kotetsu grinned.

"I should be thanking you. Fuckin’ hot." 

Kenji chuckled. "Well, glad to do it." He wagged his eyebrows and Kotetsu laughed, then quieted quickly when they realized it was _not_ the time during the movie for a laugh.

They settled in then and, though they didn’t pay a _lot_ of attention to what was left, they watched enough to heckle and have fun. 

  


"Was it a new director or something?" Izumo asked from the driver’s seat.

"I dunno, I didn’t pay attention," Kotetsu answered from his spot on the back seat. "Why?"

Izumo shrugged a shoulder. "I liked the other three, though I still say the second one was best. And I don’t get why this one ended up... just so... "

"Awful? Terrible? Horrible?" Kenji asked from next to Izumo.

Izumo nodded. "Yeah. All of the above." He shook his head. "Oh well. We managed to keep ourselves entertained," he said with a smirk.

Kenji and Kotetsu laughed. "That we did." Kenji leaned over, crossing the short distance to Izumo. "And I can’t believe I’m saying this, but it seems I could do for a... repeat performance."

Izumo glanced over at his boyfriend and raised an eyebrow. "Oh really?"

Kenji grinned wickedly and glanced back at Kotetsu, then tilted his head in a ‘come here’ gesture. Kotetsu leaned forward and Kenji shifted to whisper into Kotetsu’s ear. Izumo glared at them in the mirror. "What are you cooking up now? We’ll be home in a few minutes..."

"We know," Kotetsu said, sliding his hand around the seat to cup Izumo’s cock through denim. Izumo sucked in a breath and narrowed his eyes at Kenji.

Kenji looked completely unrepentant. "If I crash the Jeep, I swear to God, I will kill you both," Izumo threatened.

Kotetsu chuckled. "You won’t crash. Just make sure you pay attention to the road," he said, moving his hand with more insistence. Kenji leaned in, then and slid his hand up Izumo’s shirt to toy with nipples. Izumo fought hard to pay attention to the road, but it was getting more and more difficult, the harder and harder his cock got. And it was already _very_ hard. He was grateful when he saw the turn for their street.

They kept it up, driving him crazy until he actually stopped the car and pulled the parking brake. Then he turned in his seat, pulled Kenji in and locked lips with him. While he was kissing Kenji thoroughly, he reached back and found Kotetsu’s leg and worked his hand along the inseam until he got to what he was looking for. He was gratified, at least, that Kotetsu seemed as worked up as he was. Izumo let his other hand drop into Kenji’s lap and discovered that his lover was in as bad a shape as they were. 

Izumo pulled back to suck in a breath. "Let’s get inside," he said, voice rough and all three of them scrambled for the doors. Kenji barely got out before Kotetsu was pushing the seat aside to climb down. 

It took Izumo two tries to get the front door unlocked. The key just did not want to go into the lock, but finally he managed to get it to work. It took extraordinary effort to keep from slamming the door in their wake, but it closed with nothing more than a soft click of the deadbolt then the three of them hurried down the hall. Yet again, they made sure to close the door softly.

As soon as it was shut, shirts and shoes went flying, then three bodies nearly collided, hands flying everywhere, mouths locked to other mouths or skin. Soft moans floated on the chilly December air but the three of them generated plenty of heat to counter the cold as they explored. Kotetsu pulled back from Izumo’s neck and started fumbling with a belt. Izumo turned his attention to Kenji’s and Kenji tried to work his hands through the knot of limbs to get at Kotetsu’s. It took them longer this way, but none of them wanted to stop, so after a fight, they managed to remove leather from metal and buttons popped open. 

When Kotetsu turned to relieve Kenji of his jeans, Kenji wasn’t willing to stop biting and nipping at Izumo’s neck so removing them was a challenge. Eventually, Kotetsu managed and Izumo could stop fighting with and instead divest Kotetsu of denim and cotton, as well. But, as he let go, he found himself being held by Kotetsu as Kenji removed the last of his own clothing. Once naked, he was nearly dragged to the bed.

The three of them crawled up onto it and Izumo first caught Kenji’s lips in a long kiss. When he pulled back, brown eyes met hazel and they paused briefly. In all the times they’d been with Kotetsu since they started officially dating, it hadn’t felt quite like this. It was usually playful and fun, not serious or even quite this... heated and it surprised them.

But as they turned to their friend and the slanted eyes focused on each of them, there was more in them than just the humor that normally characterized their sessions. The usually grinning face was serious and Izumo wondered at the look in the black eyes. Kotetsu leaned in to kiss him first and Izumo thought again of the kiss they’d shared in the theater and how that had reminded him of the way things had been back when they first discovered kissing and touching. It was that something _different_ that seemed to be between them. 

When they broke apart, Kotetsu turned to Kenji and Izumo watched them kiss. And the strangest thought slipped into his mind. It didn’t _bother_ him. Even serious, even with the emotion that was bubbling under the surface for all of them, seeing Kenji and Kotetsu kiss just... looked _good_ to him, aroused him more, and nothing else. It confused him, and Izumo turned to make a trail over Kenji’s shoulder to bury the odd thoughts.

An arm came around him on one side and a moment later another joined it from the other side. The hands slid down his back to cup his ass and fingers teased his entrance. Izumo moaned into Kenji’s skin, then turned to nip at Kotetsu’s, as well. A groan was loosed, though Izumo couldn’t tell who it came from, then things turned confusing for a moment as lips and hands and fingers and cocks brushed, touched and tasted. They couldn't tell which belonged to whom, but it didn’t matter. 

Kenji was simply in heaven. Both men he loved were touching and kissing him. And he could have sworn he felt more from Kotetsu than the normal humor or lighthearted fun. Looking into the slanted eyes, he saw something besides just friendship, he was sure of it. Kenji realized that maybe Kotetsu just didn’t understand and as he had that thought, a small glimmer of hope surfaced that someday maybe Kotetsu would understand and would return the feelings.

When their lips met, he let go, just for one night and let himself feel. He, himself, still struggled with the fact that he seemed to care for - to _love_ \- both Izumo and Kotetsu. He knew it didn’t work that way, that you couldn’t love two people, but he couldn’t examine it closer in that moment. Instead, he poured himself into giving to the two people who meant the most to him in the world. 

Kotetsu’s eyes slid closed as his lips caught and held Kenji’s. He had never been so confused before in his life. Something was here, something was different that night and he couldn’t put his finger on it. He wanted - both of them - in a way that made no sense to him. He didn’t just want the fuck, he didn’t just want the physical. He wanted them to look at him they way they’d been looking at each other.

And they _did_ , which only succeeded in confusing him further. What _was_ that in their eyes? From his best friends? Because that’s all they were, weren’t they? Kotetsu knew he couldn’t love... though he’d started questioning himself as to whether he understood that word at all. But when he watched Kenji and Izumo together, he didn’t think he felt like they did. He didn’t really know, which only succeeded in confusing him further.

Rather than address it any more, he simply pushed it aside and focused on giving to these two that he _did_ recognize that he cared about. His best friends, the ones who’d been there for him - Izumo more than Kenji, but Kenji just as much the last couple of years. He worked to give them pleasure, touching and kissing and arousing them. 

He ran his lips over Izumo’s neck, picking the spots he knew would pull a moan from his friend’s throat. As he did, he ran a hand down over Kenji’s back to cup one ass cheek and squeeze gently, then brought it around to wrap around and stroke Kenji’s cock. "Mmm, Tetsu," Kenji whispered and the sound of his name in Kenji’s deep voice went through him.

Kotetsu turned to Kenji and kissed again, losing himself in the taste. He felt lips on his chest, shoulder and neck and his arm tightened around Izumo as they moved. They nipped and sucked at an earlobe, pulling a soft groan which got much louder when a hand was on his own cock, stroking and teasing.

Izumo had no idea how long they stayed like that, just touching and tasting each other. But an impatient sound was heard from Kotetsu’s throat and Kenji stretched out on the bed, tugging on Kotetsu until he straddled Kenji’s face. Kenji took Kotetsu’s cock into his mouth, earning a loud groan as it was swallowed. Kotetsu braced himself on the headboard and Izumo paused to take in the hot sight.

But he wanted to be a part of things too much and he moved in, straddling Kenji’s hips. His cock rubbed his lover’s and they both let out moans over the feel. Then Izumo leaned over and ran both hands down Kotetsu’s back, fingers dancing over vertebrae, tracing the seam of his ass, then ghosting over his entrance when the cheeks were spread by Kenji. Kotetsu groaned again, but that cut off into a grunt when Izumo’s tongue slid over the tight muscle. "Oh _fuck_ , Zu," Kotetsu choked out, making Izumo smile.

"Mmm," Izumo answered, teasing his friend’s entrance, letting his tongue dance over it, then push in just a little, then back again, only giving Kotetsu the smallest bits of torment. Then Kotetsu pushed his ass back and Izumo couldn’t resist the needy sound that accompanied it. He moved back in and this time, he circled the muscle, then pushed his tongue through and Kotetsu responded with a full moan. Izumo poured himself into pleasuring his friend, focusing his thoughts and energy on driving Kotetsu as crazy as he could.

At the same time, he and Kenji still rocked now and again, cocks still rubbing. Izumo put his hands up on Kotetsu’s hips and they ran into Kenji’s. Kenji moved his hands aside and covered Izumo’s with them and at that moment, Kotetsu’s joined them. Izumo paused very briefly to appreciate how... together... they were in that moment. Though he and Kenji were pleasuring Kotetsu, Kotetsu made sure to touch them, made sure to release the sounds he knew that Izumo liked, to do the things that Kenji would want him to do - like thrust, touch or _whatever_ to make it better. 

"Oh fuck, no.. not yet, please," Kotetsu started moaning and Izumo sat back and Kenji pulled off. "Oh fuck, too good," he grunted. "Both of you on me... gonna kill me."

There were light chuckles at this, then Kotetsu leaned down and caught Kenji's lips in another kiss. When they broke apart, he turned around and kissed Izumo, as well. As Izumo sat up to get closer, his cock slid along Kotetsu's ass, brushing Kotetsu’s entrance and pulling out another moan. "Want that," he murmured as Izumo pulled back and nodded.

"Want to be inside you," Izumo replied, kissing again, then sat back once more. "Kenji?" He leaned around Kotetsu and caught Kenji's gaze. "Come here, babe... let's try something."

Kenji raised his eyebrows but when Izumo and Kotetsu moved he sat up. Before Izumo could speak, however, he kissed again, needing another taste of his lover. When they broke apart, Izumo leaned in to whisper into his ear. Kotetsu watched, eyebrows going up as Kenji's lips tilted into an evil smile. "Think he can handle it?"

Izumo nodded and grinned. "Oh yeah."

"Alright," Kenji said and sat back. Izumo laid down in the place Kenji had just occupied and Kenji reached for the drawer and bottle of lube. 

"Straddle me, Tetsu," Izumo instructed and Kotetsu raised an eyebrow, but did as he was bid. "Facing Kenji," Izumo clarified. Kotetsu blinked a couple of times, but then shrugged and turned around. Izumo took the bottle from Kenji then coated two of his fingers and pushed them into his friend. He nearly crossed his eyes at the feel. "Fuck, you're tight," Izumo grunted and forced himself to focus on what he was doing. He stretched Kotetsu carefully, even adding a third finger and spreading _them_ to make sure that his friend was prepared for what he had in mind. When he was sure Kotetsu was ready, he coated his cock and guided his friend down onto the length. "Nngh... damn, Tetsu, that feels good."

"You can say that again," Kotetsu managed breathlessly. 

"Damn that feels good," Izumo said, unable to resist and Kotetsu chuckled. "Now lay back, babe," he said, not even noticing the endearment he used.

Apparently, Kotetsu didn't, either, or chose to ignore it. He did as Izumo requested and lay back. Izumo wrapped his arms around Kotetsu's chest and Kenji got in place between their legs, lifting Kotetsu's and when Kotetsu realized what Kenji intended, his eyes widened and he bit a lip. "You okay?" Izumo whispered and Kotetsu nodded. 

"Just never thought about it," he said, turning his head to meet Izumo's lips in another kiss. In that moment, Kenji's slick cock was at Kotetsu's entrance and he started to push slowly. "Oh fuck," Kotetsu grunted, eyes widening then bit that lip harder as Kenji continued to push until he was also completely buried. "Holy fuck, that's..." Kotetsu paused and blinked. "That actually feels good..."

"Feels fuckin' incredible to me," Kenji forced out, his eyes squeezed shut. 

"Me, too," Izumo said, swallowing around his dry throat. "Too fucking good." This caused a round of chuckles then Kenji pulled back slowly and thrust forward again, pulling moans from all three of them. 

"God, that's amazing. Don't know... fuck," he paused as the head of his cock brushed Izumo's. He kept his eyes squeezed shut and tried to think of something - _anything_ that might distract him from just how good it felt, but he was coming up blank. "God, not gonna last like this," Kenji whispered, saying what they were all thinking but no one wanted to admit to.

Kenji opened his eyes and shifted, wrapping his hand around Kotetsu's cock, determined to distract himself. As he worked his friend's length, he started to thrust slowly, but steadily and the sounds it pulled from the other two were amazing. Moans and grunts fell constantly and even without how good it felt, those would have sent him damned close to the edge by themselves. The shift must have also allowed him to hit Kotetsu's prostate because the slanted eyes flew open wide and a steady stream of "fucks," "damns" and "oh Gods" started to come out. 

So he picked up the pace, which caused him - and Izumo - more problems, but he couldn't resist the look of pleasure on Kotetsu's face. Izumo tilted his head and Kenji met the brown eyes. Their hands clasped then Izumo's eyes slid shut in pleasure and Kenji knew that he had very little time left before he lost it. 

Turning his attention back to Kotetsu, he started thrusting harder, moving a little faster, stroking Kotetsu's cock as close to in time with the movement of his hips as he could. But Izumo started rocking at the same time and as their cocks rubbed each other inside Kotetsu, the pleasure became too much and his rhythm broke. He held on, damned near desperately, determined not to go off the edge until he heard his lovers go first. "Close," he whispered. "Cum for me, please. Tetsu, Zu... cum..." he nearly begged.

It must have been what Kotetsu needed because a moment later, he stuffed a fist in his mouth and let go. Even around his hand, the shout was louder than it should have been as he came, cum coating all three of them. "Oh fuck!" Izumo grunted, then bit Kotetsu's shoulder, his hips rocking even faster. Kenji saw the expression, knew what was happening but it wasn't until he felt the warmth around the head of his cock as Izumo's cum flooded Kotetsu's ass that his control broke. The orgasm hit him _hard_ , tearing through him, stealing along nerve endings, snaking up his spine and shocking him. 

He let his own curse out, unable to stop or muffle it, too surprised by the force of the climax. He continued to move, his thrusts slowing gradually as the pleasure took a long time to fade. He fell forward when it was over and caught himself just barely to keep from falling on both of them. "Holy fucking God..." was all he could force through stunned lips. 

"That's... one way of putting it," Kotetsu whispered. His eyes were still wide, face still showing the shock. Kenji met them, then he shifted his gaze to Izumo and their eyes held for a long moment. Kotetsu twisted his head to look at Izumo then turned back to Kenji. Then their lips crashed together -- Kenji's and Kotetsu's -- and a million unexplainable things passed between them. When they broke apart, there was no pause, Kenji moved to Izumo and the same storm of emotion moved between them, as well. When he pulled back, he watched as Izumo and Kotetsu shared a kiss that looked as insane, as hard and as... confusing as his had been.

When they broke apart, they both looked at Kenji, whose gaze moved from one to the other then back again. A moment later, with no idea what to do with the things he'd seen when they looked at him, no idea what to do with the mess in his own head, he pulled carefully from Kotetsu's body. Kotetsu awkwardly shifted off of Izumo and settled in next to him. Kenji stretched out on Izumo's other side, rolling to face both of them. 

He left a soft kiss on Izumo's lips then waited while Kotetsu did the same. Then they kissed each other before settling in. Kenji saw Kotetsu glance down at himself and he dropped a quick kiss on Izumo's shoulder before getting up and retrieving a pair of boxers. He couldn't tell if they were his or Kotetsu's, but he didn't care. He carefully cleaned Kotetsu's chest off, then tossed them over the side of the bed. 

Kotetsu watched the whole thing, shock and something else that Kenji couldn't decipher, on his face. As Kenji settled in again, Kotetsu leaned over and kissed him. Kenji returned it, his fingers threading through the black spikes and Kotetsu did the same thing, holding Kenji close. 

And for the first time since he'd told Izumo "I love you," he found himself struggling hard to bury the words again in relation to Kotetsu. The thought frustrated and confused Kenji even further. _You can't love two people!_ He tried to tell himself that, but his brain and his heart were having a very heated disagreement over the issue and neither was willing to give in.

He laid down, instead, wrapping one arm around Izumo and tucking his boyfriend in against him. Izumo shifted and rolled, laying with his back to Kenji's front, spoon-style and Kotetsu moved in, threading his legs in with the other two. His arm went over Izumo and his hand rested on Kenji's hip.

Nothing more was said, but despite the incredible sex they'd just had, despite the late hour, it would take them all a very long time to fall asleep. There was too much floating through their heads, too much that each was trying to untangle. And none of them would be successful. Not that night, anyway.


	6. Chapter 6

"Too soon," Izumo murmured. He tried to bury the whine in his voice, but it came through, anyway.

Kenji’s arms tightened around Izumo and he dropped a light kiss on one hair-covered temple. "I know, baby. I’m sorry. So sorry, love." 

Izumo burrowed into Kenji’s arms a little further, willing the morning sunlight that leaked around his closed eyelids to go away, willing the day to be delayed another two or three... or fifty. He’d known going into it that the day Kenji left was going to be hard. But there was hard and then there was this. Izumo was having trouble just _breathing_. It didn’t seem like he could feel this much, though realistically, he knew he had been for a while. It had simply become more obvious since they were actually together.

After Christmas night, Izumo had gone and pulled out the letters he and Kenji had exchanged over the last several months. After rereading them, he realized that they'd been heading here for a while. It was little things here and there, minor flirting and the like, but now that he knew what to look for, he saw it. Even so, he'd known when Kenji came home that if he allowed himself to feel - allowed himself to recognize what he felt, he'd be in for a rough time of it when Kenji had to go. 

But recognizing that it would be hard -- knowing that it was coming -- and dealing with it were two different things. And Izumo wasn’t sure in that moment that he _could_ deal with it. The thought came to him that he could simply break up with Kenji and it would probably be simpler. But as soon as he thought it, the ache that had formed from thinking about goodbye exploded until it nearly choked him. He couldn’t do that, even if he didn’t love Kenji as much as he did, he couldn’t do that to the man. 

And he _did_ love Kenji, so the point was moot, anyway. 

He rubbed his face over the bit of hair on Kenji’s chest and thought about how much he’d miss that silly little thing. He _liked_ that there. He wasn’t one for a lot of hair or anything, but the small amount that Kenji had, he liked. He liked kissing the tiny treasure trail, liked rubbing his face on the patch on Kenji’s chest. He sighed quietly as he realized just how crazy he was being if he could worry about missing Kenji’s _chest hair_. 

Kenji’s arms tightened around him and Izumo felt the bed move. He swallowed his disappointment - if Kotetsu was up, it really was getting late - and shifted. But when he opened his eyes, it was still fairly dim in the room and relief filled him. Not that the few hours they had left would be enough, but he was grateful for them, nonetheless.

Kotetsu leaned over them. "I’m going to go shower and play on the Playstation for a while. You two deserve some time alone." He smiled at them and Izumo examined the expression, but there didn’t seem to be anything but honest care for them behind it. 

"Thanks, Tetsu," Izumo whispered.

"Yes, thank you," Kenji echoed. 

Kotetsu winked at them. "No problem. I still get breakfast with him later. Enjoy," he said and waved at them before climbing out of bed. Kenji and Izumo watched him grab clothes out of his dresser then leave, closing the door quietly behind himself.

"Wow." Izumo blinked at the closed door for another moment before looking up at Kenji.

Kenji nodded. "Wow, indeed. But... I’m glad for it. I want you one more time. Want to love you." Kenji’s voice was a whisper by the time he finished, but Izumo caught it and smiled.

"Want to love you, too, baby." Izumo tilted his head and caught Kenji’s lips with his. He poured every bit of emotion he had into it, _needing_ to show Kenji just how he felt, needing to give every bit he could, this last time they’d be together for who knew how long.

Kenji returned it, his own feelings obvious. There was love, yes, but there was also the knowledge that this was goodbye and the taste of that was bittersweet. "God, I love you, baby," Kenji whispered as he pulled back and the beautiful hazel eyes traced Izumo's face. "So much. Gonna miss you."

"Love you, too, baby," Izumo managed, then made a small sound in the back of his throat and poured himself even more into the kiss when they crashed back together. Kenji rolled, pulling Izumo over on top of him, arms going around his lover's back. Kenji’s hands slid slowly down along his skin, pulling a quiet moan from him. Izumo leaned up and brushed the back of his fingers over Kenji's cheek, his eyes memorizing everything he could of the gorgeous face. He nipped at his lover's lips, adding taste to his memory, to the things he could pull out when he would lay awake at night, aching. 

And he knew he would ache, incredibly. He just hoped he’d have the strength to handle it. And the good-bye.

The next kiss was light, lips brushing, tongues just barely touching as it shifted slowly from the soft loving into heat. Izumo rocked into Kenji, their cocks brushing and quiet moans escaped at the feel. Kenji’s hands finished their slow trip along Izumo’s skin and squeezed the ass cheeks, pulling him in a little tighter. Izumo’s breath hitched as his cock hardened even more and he bit lightly at Kenji’s lip, pushing it further from soft to hard.

Kenji hummed, his tongue snaking out to trace over Izumo’s lips and lure his lover back in for more. Izumo took the bait and their lips fused again, tongues sliding and tasting, the kiss pushing things to a slow boil. More soft sounds were loosed as Izumo shifted, rocking again, their cocks brushing again, the feel driving them both a little crazy.

Kenji deepened the kiss, one hand tightening on Izumo’s ass, pulling him closer as the grinding took on an almost desperate quality. The other slid back up Izumo’s spine then tangled in the brown hair, holding him as the kiss became almost as desperate as the grinding. They needed - to burn the feel, the taste, the sounds into their minds and it came through as they touched and moved. 

"Want to feel you, baby," Kenji whispered and Izumo moaned. "Need you inside me." Izumo pulled back and stared into the hazel eyes for a long moment before diving for the bedside table and the bottle. It took him only a few seconds then he was back and he dropped the bottle on the bed next to them.

Before he could do anything with it, Kenji pulled him back in, though, and the kisses started back up again. Hands flew over skin, touching and teasing here and there, dragging more gasps and moans from each other. Then, with a supreme effort, Izumo sat back once more. He was so hard, it nearly hurt. He snatched up the bottle, his eyes glued to Kenji’s as he opened the cap. As Kenji spread his legs, Izumo’s eyes dropped to his lover’s red, hard cock and tight entrance and he could feel the drool pooling in his mouth.

Forgetting the bottle for a moment, he dove in, wanting and needing to add this taste and these sensations to his memory. He closed his eyes, focusing on the way his tongue felt on every ridge and vein, every line and bump. As he did, as the sounds and the feel of the cock in his mouth were added to the mess of things he was trying so hard to burn into his mind, he reached up and found Kenji’s hand. Their fingers threaded, hands clasped and the simple act went straight to Izumo’s heart. 

He sat back one more time, and _this time_ he succeeded in opening the bottle. He fumbled a little as he worked to simply pay attention to what he was trying to do and not the knot of emotion nearly choking him. His hand shook a little, and he cursed himself silently. 

Kenji sat up and took the bottle from him, wrapping arms around him for a moment. He paused to slow it down, nuzzling Izumo’s face and dropping light kisses on lips and cheeks. "I love you," Kenji reminded him, and he could feel his heart slow and his shaking subside. 

He reached up and brushed his fingers over one of Kenji’s cheek. He bit his lip, then took a deep breath. "I love you, too," he whispered back, then took the bottle back and opened it, hands now steady. Kenji took his spot once more and Izumo was much better able to focus on what he needed to do.

As such, a moment later, he was pushing slowly into Kenji’s tight body. His eyes were focused on Kenji’s as he did, unable to look away, their gazes holding each other. When he was all the way, he leaned forward and their lips met in another kiss, this tasting once more of the need and near desperation that had started before. 

They moved, forcing it to stay slow, to stretch it out. Izumo wanted, needed, every minute of it he could get and he worked to that end, determined to keep it from going too fast. Kenji raised his legs a little more, his hands going to Izumo’s shoulder and back and he rocked his hips, meeting Izumo’s thrusts. "Nngh, baby... so good, almost _too_ good," Izumo murmured, his eyes sliding closed. He fought hard against the pleasure, wanting instead to simply _feel,_ to _be._

"You, too," Kenji whispered back and his head tilted, back arching as the insane pleasure went through him. He started moving again, rocking, matching Izumo thrust for thrust and it was almost too much. 

Izumo wrapped an arm around Kenji’s shoulder, holding on, needing the closeness, the something else to focus on. He brushed his lips across a shoulder, then turned and caught Kenji’s lips in another sanity-threatening kiss. But it wasn’t working, it wasn’t enough and Izumo found himself flying toward the edge, anyway. Despite his best efforts, he couldn’t resist the need to move faster, thrust harder. He braced himself up on his hands and gave in, his head falling back and eyes closing as he savored the feel of his lover’s body.

" _Nngh_... Zu... fuck..." Kenji grunted and one hand dove between them to wrap around his cock. Izumo’s eyes opened and gaze went straight to it, then up to Kenji’s face. And the look - the pure bliss that was on the face was nearly his undoing. He pulled back and out, gripping the base of his cock hard, doing his damnedest to hold his orgasm back. It was _right there_ and he wasn’t ready, didn’t want to give in just yet.

Kenji’s eyes opened and stared for a moment, then dropped to Izumo’s hand. Understanding dawned and Izumo leaned forward, the kiss working to distract him just enough. He pulled back and met he hazel eyes. "Want to feel you, too. Please, baby..."

Kenji didn’t waste a second. Izumo laid back and watched as Kenji popped open the bottle. He was very grateful for just how much they’d done over the last three weeks because it meant that he needed very little prep and only a few seconds later, his lover was filling him. "Oh _fuck_ , Kenji..." Izumo moaned.

"Mmm, yes." Kenji’s eyes slid closed and his head tilted back as he settled into place. "Not gonna last, baby. Too close already," he whispered then leaned forward for another kiss. Izumo’s hands went to Kenji’s head, fingers threading through the hair that had grown a little more just since Kenji had been there. 

When they broke apart, Izumo sucked in a breath, eyes squeezed closed. "Me, either, baby," Izumo grunted, one hand going to brace himself on the headboard. Kenji started moving, pumping hard, letting go of the attempt to keep it slow. Their eyes opened and met and Kenji’s hand met Izumo’s free one, clasping and pinning it to the bed. Kenji shifted a little more, changed angles and Izumo’s eyes flew wide when Kenji found his prostate. "Oh God, Kenji, _yes!_ " 

Kenji started thrusting hard and fast, hitting Izumo’s spot and Izumo had to let go of the headboard so he could bite his fist and hold in the shouts that wanted to come out. It felt so good, so _fucking_ incredible, and to his surprise, he found himself flying toward the edge without even a hand on his cock. He pulled his fist out of his mouth just long enough to warn Kenji. "Close, fuck, so close, baby." He went back to biting it, unwilling to start stroking himself because he wasn’t ready, didn’t want to go just yet.

Kenji nodded, unable to speak for a moment. He squeezed his eyes closed briefly and dug deep for the last vestiges of his control. When he was sure he could hold on, he opened them again and met his lover’s eyes once more. He pulled back and thrust harder, then leaned in and hovered just above Izumo’s mouth. He pulled the fist away and pinned it on the other side of Izumo’s head. He paused, holding there, just a scant inch away as Izumo struggled with control. 

Izumo fought, wrestled with sanity, with control, but the thin threads he used to hold onto it were fraying. He was close, so incredibly close, it was crazy. He was _right there,_ though he shouldn’t have been with no direct stimulation. He shook his head, not sure what he was trying to deny when Kenji’s leaned that tiny bit closer and the tight stomach added the last bit of friction needed to make the threads break completely. He fought it, he wasn’t going to, he was determined to hold on just a little longer, make it last just that tiny bit more.

But then Kenji whispered, "Cum, baby," and closed the short distance, catching his lips and he lost it. Kenji caught the scream with the kiss as the orgasm ripped through Izumo’s system. His vision disappeared and sound turned to noise in his head as white fire exploded in him. He coated both of them as the climax hung on, refusing to fade, aftershocks hitting almost as hard as the original orgasm did.

It was only by virtue of the need to silence his lover that helped Kenji hold on through most Izumo’s incredible orgasm. He managed until the muscles around his cock clamped down and hot cum splashed his chest, then he, too, flew off the edge. This time it was Izumo who caught the sound from Kenji’s throat. Kenji’s hands tightened in Izumo’s and his body shook hard as the pleasure took him. He poured himself into his lover’s body, thrusts slowing gradually and drawing it out until finally, he was able to stop.

He broke the kiss but only to gasp in air. Then he was back, they were kissing again, Izumo wrapping his legs around Kenji’s waist and their hands gripping each other for dear life. Finally they had to let go and Izumo’s arms went around Kenji’s shoulders, holding him close. Kenji buried his face in his lover’s neck, both trying desperately to ignore the inevitable.

It was time.

Izumo swallowed convulsively, refusing to recognize the emotion that was bubbling to the surface. He held on for a long time, no more willing to move than Kenji was. They stayed like that - Kenji inside of Izumo, Izumo wrapped around Kenji - as they savored and stamped into their memories every possible bit of it that they could. 

It was a long time later that Kenji lifted his head and looked into the brown eyes. Izumo worked hard to keep the sadness out of them, but he didn’t succeed completely, though in a weird way, it made Kenji feel good, too, to know that Izumo would miss him.

But he didn’t really _want_ to see Izumo hurting and he dropped light kisses on cheeks and nose and lips, doing everything he could think of to offer comfort. "We’ll write. Every day, if possible. I’ll call as often as I can. We’ll send pictures."

Izumo nodded and swallowed around the lump in his throat. He reached up and brushed a bit of Kenji’s hair back from the gorgeous face. "I love you, so much. I’ll miss you." He paused to take a deep breath, though his chest was too tight for it. "How... I want to be able to tell you I love you. In... in my letters. How... how can I? I don’t want you to get in trouble."

Kenji smiled. "I’ve been thinking about that. Just sign them with an "I" or just "Zu" or something, then no one will know who it is. That won’t tell them who you are. Or, at least, that you’re not my _girl_ friend."

Izumo nodded and he could feel a small smile tugging at his lips. "I will, you know. Every day I possibly can. The post office is going to think I’m nuts. Even if it’s to just tell you that I’m thinking about you and that I love you."

Kenji grinned. "I don’t care what the post office thinks. I’ll be too happy to get them." The grin faded and Kenji found himself having trouble breathing again. He swallowed as he stared at Izumo. "You are so incredibly gorgeous, Izumo. I don’t know how I got so lucky to call you mine, but I am."

Izumo’s cheeks colored a little. "I’m the lucky one, Kenji. Thank you, for being mine."

Kenji shook his head and leaned in for another kiss. They closed their eyes and lost themselves in it for another long moment, but then there was a quiet knock on the door and it opened a crack. "Um, guys?" Kotetsu asked, poking his head in.

They broke apart and Kenji shifted so they could look. "Hey, uh, sorry, but, um, it’s getting kind of late. Gotta pack and shower and stuff..." Kotetsu said. He looked really unhappy to be reminding them.

"Thanks, Tetsu. We’ll be out in just a minute," Izumo said, meeting the black eyes which softened at the look in his. 

"K. I’ll help pack in a few. See you," he said quietly and slipped out, pulling the door closed behind him.

Kenji dropped his head on Izumo’s shoulder and Izumo worked to keep from letting the emotions out that he didn’t want to let Kenji see. "I guess we should get going," he whispered and Kenji nodded against his cheek.

He looked up. "Yeah. For the record, I don’t want to. I... if... " He paused and sighed. "I seriously considered going AWOL. I don’t want to go back. I don’t want to leave you."

Izumo’s mouth fell open in a big O. He cupped Kenji’s cheek in his palm and blinked up into the hazel eyes. "I... Oh, Kenji, I’m sorry. I’m sorry I didn’t... we couldn’t... I’m..." He shook his head and despite his best efforts a tear slipped out. He reached up to swipe it away, but Kenji beat him to it. 

"It’s okay. I’ll come home as often as I can. I’m sorry that this hurts you, baby. That’s the last thing I wanted."

"I know." Izumo rubbed Kenji’s cheek with his thumb. "I know. It’s okay, Kenji. I’ll take it for what I get." He smiled at Kenji’s puzzled look. "The hottest member of the army is my boyfriend. I get bragging rights, I get insane memories, I’ll get hot letters... and even hotter vacations. I can handle it."

Kenji’s lips spread into a wide grin as Izumo spoke. "I love you."

"I love you, too. And I have a feeling that’s going to last for a _very_ long time."

"I hope so," Kenji replied. "Because I think I’ll be loving you for..." he paused and bit his tongue briefly. He didn’t want to drop that bomb on Izumo right before he left. _I’ll be loving you for the rest of my life._ Instead he smiled. "Well, I think you said it best - a _very_ long time."

Izumo nodded, matching Kenji’s smile. "Good. Now, I guess it’s time to get moving."

  


"Say cheese!" Kenji said and Izumo and Kotetsu chorused the word. Kotetsu’s new polaroid clicked and a few seconds later, spit out the still-developing picture. Kenji waved it back and forth as it finished up and his lips spread into a grin when it cleared. They each had an arm around each other and their eyes were fixed on the camera so Kenji had a clear view of both sets - Izumo’s hair was even held back for it. 

"Okay, our turn. You and Zu," Kotetsu said, taking the camera. Kenji and Izumo stood still for the picture, then Izumo insisted on one. When all were taken care of, Mrs. Kamizuki approached Kenji from the porch. 

She handed him a tin. "The last of the cookies. I hope you can take them with you."

"Sure can, thanks Mom," Kenji took the tin and set it on his duffle, then pulled Mrs. Kamizuki into a hug. "I’ll miss you."

"You better write me, too, okay?" She asked and he could hear the wobble in her voice. "I’ll miss you," she whispered.

"Absolutely. Thank you. For everything." He pulled back and kissed her gently on the cheek, then let go and stepped back. She was openly crying and it brought a lump to Kenji’s throat. 

"You’re my son. No thanks necessary, but... I’ll take them anyway," she smiled through the tears, dropped another kiss on his cheek, then escaped back into the house.

The three of them loaded Kenji’s things into the jeep. He had another small bag this time, thanks to his gifts, but he was too happy about it to worry about carrying extra. The picture of Izumo and Kotetsu was put in his pocket and he turned to Izumo. "I can’t risk kissing you at the base, but I want one more."

Izumo nodded and wrapped his arms around Kenji’s neck. Their lips met and the kiss was long, slow, thorough and full of so much heartbreak it was a tangible thing around them. They pulled back and Kenji brushed the tear off of Izumo’s cheek before turning to Kotetsu. Theirs wasn’t nearly as long or involved, though there was still more in it than either wanted to show. But they couldn’t stop it, no matter what they wanted. When they broke apart, hazel and black met for a long moment before Kenji stepped back.

"Well, uh..." he said and Izumo nodded.

"I guess it’s time." He hurried over to the jeep and climbed behind the wheel to hide his face. Kotetsu slid into the back seat and Kenji took shotgun. Nothing was said as seatbelts were fastened, ignition turned and gears set. Sound was unwelcome at the moment, as no one knew what could be said that wouldn’t make it just that much harder. Izumo even avoided the radio. 

He held Kenji’s hand, refusing to let go, even going so far as to shift with his left hand. It made driving interesting, but he just couldn’t do anything else. When they were about a mile from the base, he pulled over to the side of the road and, again without a word, leaned in for one more short kiss. "I’m sorry, I just.. I couldn’t... I can’t..." he stuttered, shaking his head and struggling hard for simple air. 

Kenji laid a finger over his lips. "Shh. It’s okay." He leaned in and kissed Izumo softly again, then pulled back. "I love you."

"I love you," Izumo replied, voice hitching.

"Then we can deal with all of this and anything else thrown our way." With a smile and another light kiss, Kenji sat back and Izumo went back to driving.

  


Izumo would never be able to say how he got through goodbye at the base. He hugged Kenji in what he hoped was a friendly manner, watched Kenji and Kotetsu exchange hugs and managed, somehow, to keep from crying. He had no idea how. He couldn’t have explained to save his life. 

He waved when Kenji turned to climb into the truck and they sat in the jeep, watched the truk until it disappeared around a corner. Kotetsu started the jeep and before they were even through the gates, Izumo could no longer see. It was only by virtue of the fact that he knew Kenji was just away and not dead that he’d be able to get through.

He prayed to a god he didn’t believe in, harder than he ever had in his life that it continued to be true -- that Kenji would come home to him and that they could be together for a very long time. As they pulled up at home and Izumo climbed out of the jeep, he paused and ran his fingers over the small hole that was still in the side. 

Kenji _would_ come home. He had to.

Izumo reminded himself again that Kenji was a geek, worked with equipment. There was no war, right now. With any luck, Kenji would finish his tour and come home before one broke out. Izumo held onto that hope with everything he was as they went back into the house and settled in front of the Playstation to battle for control of the planet once more.

Izumo promised himself that somehow, someway, he and Kenji would be okay. Kenji would come home and they’d be together. Someday.


End file.
